Holding On
by Scribbles97
Summary: Based mainly on the new ITV series but aspects from the movie and the originals may also come into play. The boys have silently agreed that it's time to move on from Jeff's disappearance. But, with questions still unanswered, and two business' to run will the boys cope without cracks starting to show? And what would Jeff have to say when there's some new company on the Island?
1. Chapter 1

"It's not like you to be up here," Virgil commented when he found his brother at the highest, accessible part of Tracy Island.

Scott looked up in surprise and shook his head, he had expected to be left in peace by his brothers. His communicator was on if they had needed him. His younger brother jumped down next to him, sending a cloud of dusty dirt swirling through the air, "Dad used to come up here all the time,"

Scott just nodded in response, that was why he had gone there. That was the only reason he ever went up there, to be closer to his Dad, "It's been a year Virgil,"

Virgil nodded, all of the brothers knew that fact well, none of them needed to remind the others. Scott often wondered what his father would think of the boys' alterations to the organisation, giving John more to do during missions, coordinating the rest of his brothers on the ground, giving the youngest of them, Alan, a fraction more responsibility, and Kayo having her own Thunderbird.

Part of Scott believed his father wouldn't mind, as long as International Rescue fulfilled its purpose, Jeff Tracy would be happy, wherever he was.

"Do you think he's gone, Scott?" Virgil murmured, none of them sure if or how their father could just disappear without any leads to what had happened to his ship.

Scott looked up to the sky, it's blue hue turning to orange and red as the sun set into the sea, "I'd think we'd know if he was,"

Virgil nodded and followed his oldest brothers stare, the first star shining brightly against the darkening sky. He thought of his brother, that felt like he was so many millions of miles away, John hadn't taken a break in the last year, he usually came back down for at least a couple of weeks at least once in twelve months.

"John-"

"He doesn't want to come down," Scott cut his brother off, knowing what he was going to say, having the same worry for him, "I tried to talk him into it the other day, but he was having none of it," Scott shook his head, a small smile gracing his face for the briefest of moments, "Even Grandma tried to persuade him,"

Virgil laughed, "Oh yeah, I reckon he's just hiding up there to keep away from her cooking experiments,"

Scott smiled and nodded, "Probably," He looked up to the darkening sky, "I'll head up in a couple of days and drag him back by the ear if I have to,"

Virgil nodded, "Alan can go up, even if it's just for a few days,"

Scott was about to reply but hesitated as his communicator buzzed on his wrist, "International Rescue, we have a situation,"

"Go ahead John," Scott told him as the two brothers jumped up and jogged down the uneven terrain.

* * *

Up on Thunderbird 5 John was assessing the situation, "A commercial airliners navigation systems have been interfered with by some sort of unusual weather system," He wasn't entirely sure that it was the weather system causing the problem, in that day and age, a thunderstorm wasn't usually enough to knock anything out.

"Where abouts?" Gordon asked, if it was over an ocean he may get chance to take Thunderbird four out.

"Dead centre of the atlantic," John told him, "They're struggling to get above the storm,"

Gordon was desperate for a job, the last three missions he had been left at home, his expertise not needed for so many land based missions, "Can they not do an emergency water landing?"

Kayo raised an eyebrow, "Come on Gordon, you of all people should know the water would be too choppy for them to try it,"

John could see they didn't have the time to have the discussion, the Airliners altitude was dropping, fast.

"Could we perhaps discuss this once someone's on the way?" He nudged, "Otherwise this plane is going to hit the water before you even get there,"

"We're on our way John," Scott announced, "We'll talk once we're on route,"

"FAB," John nodded as three of his brothers disappeared from the hologram.

* * *

Three hours later, Scott sighed as he walked back into the house, cold, tired and sodden. Why had he insisted on being the one to climb onto the plane to cut open the door that had bolted itself shut? It had been far from the best conditions, pouring rain, biting wind, and waves the size of Thunderbird two splashing over him every few minutes.

The mission was done though, and it had been a success.

He looked around as his Grandma came over to him with a towel, "Is everyone back safe?" The house was too quiet for any of the brothers to be awake, rarely did Scott experience this peacefulness. Grandma Tracy nodded, "All fed, washed, and asleep," She assured him, "Shall I put the soup on for you?"

Soup, Scott smiled, the only food Grandma could cook. He still declined though, just wanting his bed, "I'm fine thanks Grandma, you should go to bed,"

She nodded to her first grandson and smiled, "Good night Scott,"

"Night Grandma," Scott smiled back as she headed into the kitchen to finish tidying up before she turned in for the night.

The eldest Tracey brother paused at his fathers old desk, taking a minute to gaze at his parents' wedding photo. Only he and John really remembered their mother, Virgil remembered small bits, but the others had just been too young when she had died.

Now that they were both gone, Scott held the burden, he refused to let anything happen to his remaining family. He could only hope that he could make his parents proud in what he was doing, "Night Dad," He murmured softly, "Night Mum,"

He looked up as the lights flicked off in the kitchen and smiled softly, knowing his Grandma had been quietly watching from a distance.

She knew the burden the eldest held, how he would do anything to keep his brothers safe. Who would keep him safe though? Even the oldest needed someone to guide them every now and again, and she was more than happy to do the job. After all, Grandmas were just Mums on steroids.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thunderbird Three requesting permission to commence docking sequence.** An automated voice rang through John's dreams. With a groan of complaint John reached out to the table by his bed in his cabin of Thunderbird Five. His hand searched blindly for his watch, eventually grasping it as it vibrated. Squinting against the brightness of the hologram, he glared at his brothers 'Bird. He had just been in the middle of a dream about a cafe in Paris someone had told him about, he couldn't remember who, but he could remember the vivid colours of the images he had found online. Apparently it was a hot spot for young coup…

"John, wakey wakey!" His brothers voice called gently from the watch, easing him from his sleepy stupor.

With a groan John sat up and pulled on a t-shirt as his watch vibrated again, "Alright, alright, I'm coming," He grumbled as he headed to the main control room, "You'd better have a good excuse,"

He hadn't realised that his Comms link was still on as he got a reply he didn't expect, from a brother he didn't expect. It hadn't clicked in his head just before that it was his _older_ brother that was paying a visit.

Scott laughed as his first younger brother's face suddenly came to life, he knew that it had suddenly clicked in John's head that it was him visiting. The younger man didn't seem to appreciate being woken at this time of day though, he was grumbling something about Scott having a good excuse.

In Scott's opinion, he had a very good excuse, his brother hadn't been down to earth for a year and that simply was not healthy. Sure, he wouldn't feel any adverse effects, the 'Bird had a small gym with full gravity enabled, and Brains had developed tablets that kept everything else in balance. But hiding from humanity for a year wasn't healthy, no matter how fit he was otherwise.

"Just give me chance to explain," He insisted as he grabbed the duffle bag he had brought with him, while the suits were good for working in, he wouldn't want to wear them all the time he was up in Thunderbird five.

John met his brother at the entrance, raising an unapproving eyebrow at the bag, "I don't like the look of that,"

He knew what the bag meant, Scott was following through on his promise to make John return to the Island even if he didn't want to go. They'd been discussing it for months now, John kept putting it off, either distracted by an incoming mission, or changing the topic before Scott could get around to that particular conversation. John shook his head, turning to head back to his gravity enabled den, "I don't want to go back Scott, I told you that,"

Both boys knew that John didn't mean that, though he would never admit it, he couldn't go back. Not when he needed to stay up here and keep a constant watch on the whole world, keeping the constant hope that something would show up, telling him what had happened to his father. He didn't understand how a jet could so simply disappear off of the map, one minute it had been there and the next time John had turned back, it was gone.

John sighed as turned on the coffee machine, trying to put off the conversation.

Scott took a seat on the sofa that looked out to the stars, John couldn't stay up here for the rest of his life. His family wanted to see him at home, it was alright for his brothers, they could all come up and visit, but what about their Grandmother, she could never make this particular journey.

"All I'm asking is that you take a week," He insisted, needing his brother to see reason, for him to realise that he was missed, "Everyone is worried about you, up here on your own,"

He didn't miss the look of guilt cross John's face as he passed him a mug of black coffee, but the astronaut quickly turned away to look out to the darkness, hiding his emotions from his brother.

"A year is a long time John," Scott pointed out as he looked out of the window, thinking of the stories his mother had told him under the stars, "Even for you."

"I want to go back Scott," John sighed, staring out into the stars, never getting bored of their patterns in the emptiness. It wouldn't do any good denying it, Scott was here now and John knew that his only older brother wouldn't leave before he did, "But, I just can't,"

Scott shook his head, John caught his reflection in the glass as their eyes met, "What would Mum and Dad say if they were here?"

John rolled his eyes, looking back to the depths of the stars, "They're not here, that's kind of the point,"

Scott smiled and got up, stepping over to stand by his brother, "But if they were, if Dad were here, he'd be telling you to get your ass home before you miss out on Gordon's waffles,"

John laughed and nodded, one of the few things he missed living up in solitude, the food. Nothing beat his younger brothers waffles for breakfast and Grandma's apple pie for dessert. If only he could get pizza delivery up here, then it would be perfect.

He did want to go back, he just didn't dare face Tracey Island without the man that should have always been there. The boy wasn't sure how he'd cope without his Dad on the Island. It was something that he simply didn't know.

Scott smiled and nudged his brother, attempting to cheer him up a bit with the intel he had gained from, checking over his brothers online accounts. It wasn't hacking, John always said so, it was just borrowing information.

So when Scott had found an email notification from an online dating site, he had simply borrowed the information on the red haired, green eyed girl from New York City to use against his younger brother.

"Besides," He smiled as John gave him a worried glance, "We're not going to be young forever, some of us need to start looking at our futures,"

John laughed, quickly catching onto the fact that his brother had been checking up on him. Again. Despite their agreement that their personal lives were just that, personal.

"I thought we agreed?"

Scott shrugged and John groaned, worried about how much he had seen, surely he wouldn't delve too deep into his private conversations? No, Scott had some respect for his brothers privacy, John was sure that his messages were still very much private.

He knew when Scott's grin widened that the details on the woman he had been messaging were not quite so private.

"The redhead seemed nice, shall I check her out?"

John shook his head, "You will do no such thing!"

He hadn't even met the woman yet, she believed that he lived in southern Australia. It had reassured him that a long distance relationship wouldn't phase her. They were both happy to give things a go and see if they went further.

What John hadn't counted on though, was being forced back down to earth, where his privacy would have to compete with his younger brothers' noseyness.

Scott turned to the sink and dumped his mug, "Besides, you'll have to go down this week, unless you plan on missing Allie's twenty-first?"

He didn't miss John shifting in surprise as he looked around to him, "That's not _this_ weekend, is it?"

Scott turned and leant against the sink, folding his arms. This was proof enough for him that John had to take a break, whether he wanted to or not. Losing track of days was the first sign that his father had always warned him to look out for, and here it was.

"Yes," He told him with a stern glare, "So you are going to spend until _at least_ then, relaxing."

John pulled a face, though he would never admit it, had warmed to the idea of going home now that he had talked about it. He refused to miss his youngest brother's passage into adulthood, and it would give him chance to take a few days to meet the girl from the dating website. He'd also get to see his family together again, and eat some decent food.

"Well," He smirked at Scott, "I suppose it _would_ be nice to have some actual human company, rather than just holograms,"

Scott laughed, his face lighting up as he caught onto the fact that John had accepted the fact he was going back to earth. The laugh turned wicked though, making John worry a little before Scott said, "Yeah, who knows, maybe, what's-her-name will want to come up here with you."

John shook his head in embarrassment as Scott continued to laugh, "I've not even met her yet!"

Scott smiled and folded his arms again, too confident as he nodded, "Yeah, but you will, soon,"

John shook his head, not wanting to hear any more of his brothers thoughts, worried about where they might lead. He turned towards the door, "Let me grab a bag and then I'll go,"

Scott smiled, glad that his plan had worked, not that he had had any doubt that it wouldn't work. He'd known John since the day he was born, of course he knew how to get him to do something, "Good, if you hurry up, you'll be back in time for Waffles,"

John laughed and shook his head, "Why do you think I'm going?"

Scott got up, knowing that he needed to run some programmes before Thunderbird Three could undock, "Don't let the others run riot," He pointed out, the only part of his plan he didn't like was handing over his big brother responsibilities. Up in space he would be powerless to look after his younger siblings, he had to put all his faith in John to take up that role.

John laughed and nodded, "As long as you look after my 'Bird,"

"It's Alan that always leaves the mess!" Scott exclaimed, with a smile, knowing full well that it was actually him that had left a sink full of dirty dishes last time he had been up here, "Don't worry, and keep in touch,"

John nodded, a bit more relaxed about going home than he had been, "Bye Scott, I'll see you at the weekend,"

Scott nodded, happy that things were starting to rectify themselves, slowly but surely.


	3. Chapter 3

Alan frowned as he spotted the empty seat at the breakfast table, "Is Scott not up yet?"

Scott was always first up, he always went for a jog before the others got up and started their shenanigans. Alan was always last, loving his sleep almost as much as he loved saving people. So that day seemed like a rare occurrence.

 _He could still be on his run,_ Alan reasoned to himself, it had been a long night last night and Scott was known to let that reflect in his time spent on his morning jog.

Kayo went to get up, not happy with the unusual occurrence. The last time Scott had been last up, he had been seriously sick with some sort of virus. She didn't want to risk Scott suffering for longer than necessary if that was the case again.

Grandma stopped her though, "Leave him, he was a good hour behind the rest of you last night,"

Kayo sunk back down in her seat, she had stayed home and watched the rescue from the sofa. She hadn't really been needed, the boys had managed on their own. Scott had sent the others ahead home, while he had stayed with the fallen jet until the authorities arrived to do as they needed with the wreck.

Virgil nodded, thinking back to the other week when his oldest brother had been forced to go eighteen hours without sleep due to an onslaught of catastrophes. He'd learnt the hard way to stay on Scott's good side when he was tired.

In short, Scott was a bit of a jerk when he was tired, "He needs his beauty sleep," He smirked and rolled his eyes, "He's worse than a grizzly bear if he doesn't get- Ow!"

He rubbed the back of his head in the spot his Grandmother had just sharply tapped him in warning, "That's no way to talk about your brother,"

With a grumble to himself Virgil went to get some juice, he'd only been joking. Gordon said worse things about all of them all the time, yet he never got punished.

The second youngest Tracy was mixing the waffle batter, having added all his secret ingredients to the mix. His brothers knew better by now than to ask what he put in aside from the obvious, but a magician never revealed his tricks and Gordon refused to share the secret. He smiled as he checked the temperature of the waffle iron and poured the batter in, "Well, he's the one missing out,"

He knew that the huge bowl of batter he had made would be gone in no more than half an hour. Boy, his brothers could get through some serious amounts of waffles. Not Kayo though, she preferred fruit and wholegrain toast for breakfast, something that Gordon turned his nose up at, who actually _liked_ wholegrain bread? And, why have bread when you could have waffles? It wasn't like the boys were completely unhealthy. Waffles were just an occasional treat, as Gordon refused to get up at the crack of dawn every day to make them. He couldn't understand why, or how, anyone could have such an aversion to them.

As he took a waffle from the pile, Brains looked to Kayo, leaning back in her chair munching on the dark red apple.

"K-kayo, why don't you have a waffle with f-fruit?" He suggested, making the boys look up in realisation. Alan frowned and nodded, "Yeah! You're always having fruit and Greek yoghurt for breakfast, why not have it with a waffle?"

Brains frowned and looked over his shoulder as Kayo out to the sea. He was sure he could hear the engines of Thunderbird three. But that wasn't possible, Alan was here in front of him, and Scott was asleep. He must have just been imagining things.

He looked back to the table as Kayo sighed, getting up to grab her tub of yoghurt from the fridge, "Will it shut you all up if I try it?"

Grandma pointed out, "You're still being healthier than they are with all that butter and syrup,"

Brains laughed and shook his head, as Grandma reached out for the syrup herself, but he was quick to shut up when she gave him a pointed look. Kayo reached out and took a waffle, slicing a banana over it and adding a dollop of the thick yoghurt from the tub.

Just as Kayo was about to take a bite, Alan frowned and looked out to the ocean, "Doesn't that sound like…" The youngest brother trailed off, shaking his head, telling himself that waiting up for his brothers last night must have been a bad idea.

"No," Brains agreed, quickly catching on to what he had heard, "I hear it too, th-thunderb-bird three?"

At this everyone stopped and listened, Kayo getting away with taking a bite without anyone noticing. It was better than she had expected, the sweetness of the fruit worked as it usually did with the yoghurt, but the cooked batter added something more, though she couldn't put her finger on it.

The others were all nodding in agreement, the engines of Three clear in the still morning air. Virgil pushed his chair back and headed to the door, stepping out onto the sundeck and shielding his eyes as he searched the horizon. He heard the others follow him out, temporarily leaving their waffles, more concerned about who was flying the 'Bird.

"There!" Kayo exclaimed, pointing more up to the sky than out to sea. Virgil followed her outstretched arm, the red rocket speeding in its descent, "It _is_ Thunderbird three,"

Virgil looked to Grandma, confused as to why she had insisted Scott had gone to bed. She shook her head, as confused as the rest of them, "I was right behind him when he went to his room,"

"Unless he got up early," Alan suggested, Virgil heard the discontent in his voice, the youngest boy hated other people flying _his_ 'Bird, "I wonder why though,"

All the boys shook their heads, "We'll find out soon enough," Virgil shrugged, "Come on, I want to know what Kayo thinks of her fruity waffle!"

Kayo groaned as the others laughed and they all turned back inside.

* * *

John laughed as he made it back on to terra firma, all the post flight checks completed, he headed up to the kitchen. His family must be too busy eating Gordon's waffles to waste time coming down to the hangars. They probably all thought that it was Scott who had been flying, though how they would justify that to themselves, he wasn't sure.

As he walked through the house, John smiled to himself, he could hear his three younger brothers laughing and teasing Kayo about something, probably waffle related. The sweet fried smell made his nose tingle, making John wonder how he had survived a year without waffles. Perhaps it was a good thing that Scott had forced him back down to earth.

Silently, he leant in the doorway, his family had their backs to him so he could quietly watch what was going on undisturbed. Alan was pulling faces as Grandma placed a handful of blueberries on top of his syrup coated waffle, insisting as she did, "If Kayo's having fruit, you can too,"

Kayo laughed, "I think he would have preferred the strawberries,"

"I hate blueberries!" Alan exclaimed, "They're too squishy,"

John was sure Virgil would be rolling his eyes as he replied, "Well, swap with Kayo then, she likes blueberries, and you like strawberries,"

John frowned in confusion, why would Alan want to swap a waffle for Kayo's yoghurt and fruit? Kayo never ate waffles, and Alan never had Greek yoghurt.

He was surprised when Kayo nodded, "Sure," She held out her plate to Alan, "Here you go,"

"Hang on," He couldn't help himself from interrupting, "Since when does Kayo have waffles?"

Everyone froze, Alan's hand halfway to grasping Kayo's plate. They'd all been expecting an older brother to be joining them for breakfast, but not that particular older brother.

Alan was first to jump up, "Johnny!" The youngest boy ran over to his only other blond brother and hugged him tightly. John couldn't help but laugh as he hugged him back, expanding his arms as his other two brothers joined the reunion.

"And here was me expecting a welcome party waiting in the hangar," John joked as his brothers pulled away. He smiled to his Grandma as she stepped over to him, waggling a finger, "You should know that waffles come before anything else!"

John pretended to frown, "I think there's one thing that can come first," He disagreed, holding his arms out suddenly realising how much he had missed his chats with his Grandma. She smiled in return and hugged him tighter than he thought possible, whispering in his ear as she did, "We've missed you, kid,"

"I've missed you too," He murmured back softly, holding onto her for an extra second before they pulled apart and he added, "I'm sorry I didn't come home sooner,"

He was grateful that Grandma shook her head dismissively, the conversation wasn't important right then, but it would surely come later.

"So when did Scott go?" Virgil asked, as they all sat back down, "Grandma said he didn't get in until late,"

He laughed as John shook his head and looked to Kayo, "My question first,"

Virgil raised his eyebrows as Kayo smiled, "They bullied me into having one with fruit," She shrugged, as if it were nothing, "It's not as bad as I thought,"

John nodded, happy with the response. Virgil looked up as he next oldest brother explained briefly, "Scott came pretty soon after getting back and as good as kicked me out of Five,"

"How long are you staying for?" Alan asked, Virgil knew he was hoping to get a trip out of orbit on his brothers return to space.

John laughed and shook his head, "Trying to get rid of me already?"

Before Alan could respond, a hologram interrupted, "No, he's just going to complain that we used Three without asking him,"

Alan folded his arms, making Virgil and Gordon want to laugh, he always looked so babyish when he did that, "You always leave the seat too far back,"

The two older pilots laughed, it was always a complaint they got from their younger brother when they had used his craft. Their longer legs needed more room to stretch than Alan's little ones, and it wasn't exactly part of the post flight checks to return the pilot's seat to its default position.

"Alright short stuff," John smiled, "I'll make sure to add it into the post flight checks from now on,"

Scott laughed, making John look up with a questioning eyebrow raised. The oldest brother shook his head, "He's perfectly capable of moving the seat back himself."

John shrugged as he took a bite of waffle and tried not to groan at the taste. How he had missed proper food.

"Hey guys," Scott interrupted their laughter, "I hate to interrupt a waffle breakfast, but there's been a series of explosions in Cape Town,"

"Seriously?" Alan groaned as John took another hurried bite, knowing it wouldn't save until they got back, "But I've just put syru-"

Scott interrupted his brother, filling the rest of them in on the information he had, "Captain Casey has intelligence that it's our old friend that's caused them,"

"He's up to something," Gordon frowned, not understanding why The Hood would want to attract their attention.

Scott was thinking along the same wavelength, "I don't like it, I think someone should stay there, incase he tries something,"

Grandma folded her arms, certain that the only reason he wanted one of his brothers to stay was because of her, "I hope that's not because of me, young man,"

"Not at all Grandma," Scott laughed, knowing she would have taken it the way she had, "It looks like Lady P is on her way in anyway, I'm sure you could use the help tidying up,"

Alan sighed and leant back in his seat, knowing that, as the youngest he would be made to stay, "You guys have fun without me,"

Gordon laughed and winked at his brother, "Don't eat all the waffles on us!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you so much to** **TheFABFive2015 for the lovely comments, this one's for you!**

* * *

John watched as the rescue platform swung dangerously in the gust of wind that sent the spring blossom swirling through the smoky air. Gordon was working at the controls to rescue the three people stuck at the top of the crumbled skyscraper before it collapsed on itself completely. He wasn't sure what he could do, everyone else was out of trouble and safe, all he was waiting for was his lift back home.

"Virg, that wind's throwing her about," He pointed out to his next youngest brother through the comms, wanting to make sure he knew how bad poor Gordon was being tossed around.

Gordon replied as the three lines fired to the stranded civilians, "John, can you get a medic ready for us? One of them is badly hurt,"

"F-A-B, Gords," John responded, grateful for something to do of use again rather than standing helpless. That was why he preferred being on 'Five, there he could keep an eye on everything happening without feeling like he should be doing something hands on. He could help up there by surveying things that his brothers couldn't see.

But he was down on the ground, and someone needed a medic. Turning to the tent that had been set up as the platform was lowered to the ground, he called in, "Can I have some help please?"

When a red haired woman began to head towards him he paused and looked back to her. He instantly recognised her, though he'd never met her face-to-face before. He shook his head in frustration, she was meant to be in America, miles and miles away from here. She wasn't meant to know what he did, his brothers would kill him if they found out he'd let slip to a random woman from a dating site.

He glanced around, Gordon was still trying to ground the rescue platform. Maybe he could persuade her to keep quiet before they noticed anything?

The woman had also paused as she got her first full look of the blond man's face.

"John?" She whispered, hardly loud enough for him to hear over the disaster scene. She recognised his face, but was much more familiar in seeing him in t-shirts and jeans, or even a space suit rather than the blue International Rescue uniform. No, that couldn't be right, the John she had met online was John Tracy, retired astronaut, living in south Australia working quietly at one of his father's offices as an average Joe… her thoughts trailed off as it all clicked into place. Of course, some average Joe on the other side of the world was the perfect cover for a man that couldn't let slip his true identity to just anyone.

But even so, he could have at least told her some of the truth.

She grabbed his arm before he could protest and pulled him over to a quiet corner, "You neglected to tell me…" She trailed off and looked up and down his uniform, not quite able to believe it. She knew she could never tell anyone that _the_ Tracy's were also _the_ Thunderbirds. That would be one hell of a secret to keep from her friends at work.

John shook his head, immediately beginning to apologise, feeling immensely guilty for lying to her so badly, "I'm sorry, I was going to tell you, I just had to…" He sighed and looked around him, "... It's not just something that I could throw into a conversation," He smiled slightly as the woman pursed her lips, fighting a laugh. It didn't seem that she was going to call the whole thing off over this, which was a relief, "I'm sorry our first meeting wasn't under better circumstances, Evie,"

She laughed and nodded, "You have some serious explaining to do, John," She didn't dare to use his full name in public, what if someone got wind that it was the Tracy's that ran International Rescue? No, she would have to keep quiet, she didn't want to ruin her chances with the sweet, shy, man in front of her.

John pursed his lips, making Evie worry, she wondered if she had already blown it by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He quickly reassured her though with a brief smile and a squeeze of her hand, "I promise, you can have that phone call you've been begging me for, and I will explain what I can,"

Before Evie could reply the pair heard Gordon's yell for a medic. Evie ran past John, but as he went to follow, he spotted Kayo running down a back alley alone. A quick glance around told him that there wasn't any danger down there, and that he wasn't needed by his brothers. So, he followed her, worried that she'd found another problem that needed seeing to.

Kayo glared at the red eyes man at the other end of the alley to her, she knew he was responsible for all this terror and now she had her chance to grab him. She wasn't going to let him get away again, he'd caused enough damage to last a life time.

"Ah, Kayo, I see you're still chasing these boys around," The man's deep, rough, voice reached her through the darkness of the alleyway, "I wonder what they would say if they knew the truth about you, about what you did to their father."

"I did nothing!" Kayo snapped, stepping forward towards him. She hated him, she wanted to rip his throat out, she was better than that though, she was better than what this man was. Kayo wouldn't kill out of spite.

The man laughed, coarse and loud, "Of course, that's why he's gone, because you refused to help me. You refused to help your own family,"

"Kayo!" John exclaimed as he saw her close proximity to the red eyed figure.

Kayo gasped and spun around as she realised she wasn't the only member of the team there, John was stood right behind her.

The Tracy boy took another step forward, wanting to reach the woman. But they were both knocked back by the smoke bomb. John quickly righted himself and spotted Kayo, as the Hood disappeared into the smoke.

He had been sure he had heard their enemy right, he had said that Kayo refused to help family. Kayo had refused to help the Hood. She had stood by her team, but she hadn't told them the whole truth.

"You're related to The Hood?" He whispered, wary of prying eyes.

Kayo had her comeback ready though, she'd seen him flirting earlier with the red haired girl outside of the tent, "You have a girlfriend?"

John shook his head, only partly caught off guard by her question, "This is nothing like that,"

Kayo pulled back, but John kept a firm hold on her arm. He knew he could trust her, the girl had helped his family countless times. He wasn't ready for his secret to be outed though.

"Please, don't tell anyone yet?" He asked her, "I won't tell them about," He glanced up to where the Hood had disappeared and shuddered a little, remembering the hit on Thunderbird Five almost five years ago now.

Kayo saw the fear flash in the older man's eyes and nodded, "Okay, your Grandma knows though, so did your Dad," She paused and also looked to the last known position of the Hood, "I want nothing to do with him, John,"

John nodded to her, seeing the hate shining in her eyes as she spoke of her family member, "I believe you,"

"John, Kayo," Gordon's voice cut in, "We're heading back, where are you?"

John was quick to recover and respond to his sibling, "We were just checking out a building that worried Kayo," He paused and glanced to the woman, his words having two meanings when he finished, "It's fine,"

The two smiled and jogged back to where the ship was waiting. John's eye caught the flash of red as he passed the tent and he lifted his hand slightly in a wave.

The woman holding the box of medical supplies blushed as she spotted the man's half wave. She hoped that her knowledge and this unplanned meeting wouldn't have too many repercussions for either of them.

After all, everyone just wanted to be happy.


	5. Chapter 5

After the debrief, John pulled Kayo into the kitchen, using the excuse that it was their turn to tidy up the breakfast dishes.

When they were alone, Kayo yanked her arm away from John and glared at the older man, "I didn't choose for this," She whispered, still wary of prying ears, "You can't-"

John rolled his eyes and shook his head, unsurprised that she had gotten defensive. He supposed if he had a secret as deep and dark as that, he would be wary of who knew. But his family was Kayo's family, he couldn't understand why she hadn't told them about it.

"I'm not mad at what is," He shook his head, "I'm not mad at all,"

Kayo sighed and sunk down on a stool, she did feel bad for keeping secrets from the boys, they were like brothers to her. She was afraid of their rejection though, they would have every right to be mad at her. It was her uncle that had tried to kill them and sabotage International Rescue, after all.

"I'm sorry I've kept it a secret," She murmured, drawing a pattern on the polished granite surface, "You have a right to know,"

She glanced up as John rested a hand on her shoulder, she was unable to notice that she didn't get butterflies like she did whenever Alan did the same. The two blond men, both had the same light blue eyes that she had seen in images of their mother, such soft kind eyes.

"You're still young Kayo," He pointed out to her, "And you have a lot of responsibility on your shoulders,"

She raised an eyebrow, knowing that she was going to get a lecture about enjoying life while she could. Before he could start she shook her head, "I'm happy John, I like my life how it is, I've always been grown up for my age, it's all I ever hear off of anyone,"

John sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get through to her so easily. He would just have to wait for her to go to him, "Just don't coop it all up," He pointed out to her, "I'm happy to listen if you ever need to vent, and I can explain to the others if you decide to get away for a few days,"

He relaxed a little when she smiled to him, she'd accepted the offer at least. What he didn't expect was the hug that followed. She was only six months older than his youngest brother, yet she acted more like Scott than any of them. He wouldn't blame her if she needed some down time.

"Thanks John," She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder, "For understanding,"

She knew that everyone talked to John, he just had a good listening ear and never got angry at anyone. Yet, she had been so stubborn that she hadn't realised that she needed someone to listen to her for a bit until now.

"Please, just don't tell anyone about Evie," He smirked as she pulled back.

Kayo laughed and spun the stool around to watch him as he went to grab a smoothie from the fridge, "Evie?"

She knew he meant the red haired woman from the rescue, but what was life if she didn't get to tease a little? "Oh, you mean the red head? Aww, that's a shame, I'm sure the others would love to hear all about her,"

She smiled as John shook his head, she wouldn't ever tell them. John wouldn't like that, he was too reserved to just blurt something like that out before he knew where he was up to.

Kayo knew she'd have to check the woman out, she had looked innocent enough but it was impossible to know just who was hiding behind that exterior.

The pair jumped at the sound of someone coming into the kitchen and asking, "What are you two doing in _my_ kitchen?"

John smiled easily to his Grandma, knowing that they were both innocent, "We were just talking Grandma, don't worry we wouldn't dare steal any Apple Pie,"

He couldn't help but laugh as she looked to him through narrowed eyes, "You better not have, John Glenn,"

He frowned at the use of his middle name, but couldn't protest before Kayo cut in, "The Hood was there," She told Grandma softly, making the older woman frown and look to John in confusion. He nodded once, knowing that she was smart enough to work out that he knew.

Grandma nodded, she was glad the young woman had started to let the secret out. She had somehow had a feeling it would be her second oldest grandson that found out first, everyone knew he had a listener's ear. As for the two sneaking off together, she wasn't sure what to make of that. Was there something more going on? The older woman couldn't help but see the glimmer in John's eye and the smirk on Kayo's lips, as if they both knew something she didn't.

She smiled and turned to the oven, turning it on to warm. John hadn't had her apple pie for a very long time, so she had decided to make one as a special treat. Maybe she could use it as a bribe to find out what they were keeping secret. Grandma's had a right to be in-the-know, didn't they?

Besides, the two had been laughing together, that surely didn't fit into their conversation on The Hood, "What were you laughing about?"

The question caught John off guard, but Kayo was quick to answer, "We were just making plans for Alan's twenty-first, next weekend,"

John grinned at the memory of the birthday traditions. It was a good job had had been forced back down to earth by Scott, otherwise he could have forgotten how soon the date was coming around. Up there in space, days and nights merged together. John would sleep when he could, and eat when he wanted. Space didn't have a time zone like the rest of the world, space was just one long day.

Grandma and Kayo had caught John, staring blankly out of the window overlooking the forest. They looked to each other with knowing smiles, his head was still in space. Kayo snapped her fingers in front of his face, trying not to laugh as she called, "Earth to Thunderbird Five!"

Both of the women laughed as John snapped his head back to them, "Sorry, I was-"

"Miles away, we know," Kayo laughed, "We'll have to put Five on automatic for a few days,"

John nodded his approval, as Grandma smiled, "It'll be nice for all you boys to be back together again,"

Kayo smirked at John, wondering if his new lady friend meant he would be spending more time down on earth. She certainly wouldn't mind, as long as she wasn't the one that had to spend more time up on his 'Bird. She quite liked having her feet firmly on the ground.

She noticed Grandma looking to John, something on her face told her to make herself scarce, so with a quickly uttered excuse about checking S's systems, she headed down to the hangars.

Grandma began to peel some apples as she turned to John, "I know you prefer listening, John, but sometimes even the listener should become the speaker,"

She looked back to the apples, John didn't like an audience when he was talking. He had always been more comfortable if the person he was talking to was distracted by something else. In the corner of her eye she saw John perch on the stool Kayo had been occupying. He plucked a grape from the bunch in the fruit bowl, procrastinating, before sighing, "I feel like it's my fault, Grandma,"

She resisted the urge to put down the peeler and hug him. He needed to get everything off of his chest, hugs would have to wait for now.

John looked down to his feet as he sighed, "I just can't believe that he disappeared like that and I didn't notice," He looked out of the sliding glass doors to where his brothers were messing about around the pool, "One job, I have one job, to keep an eye on them all," He turned his head away and his hand that rested on the counter balled into a fist, "One job, and I can't even do that right!"

He bit down on his trembling lip, refusing to cry in such an open place, all it would take was one of his brothers to look inside and they'd be onto him. All he had done was turn away to change the thermostat settings and he turned back to an error message, announcing that Tracy Four could not be detected. Twelve months later and there had still been no sign, no beacon, no wreck, no sign of their father ever coming home.

Grandma knew the second oldest still felt he was to blame, she knew that was why he had been hiding up on 'Five for a year. _So like his father,_ she thought to herself as she set the apple and the knife down, remembering the times when her own son had hidden away when he thought he had done wrong. Her Grandson was willing enough to rest his forehead against her shoulder as she rubbed his back. He sniffed quietly and took the tissue she offered him.

"It's not your fault, John," She murmured to him softly, "Nobody is to blame, none of us know what happened,"

Her arms loosened around John as he pulled back, taking a gulp of air, "I just wish we knew something,"

Grandma nodded, she too wished she knew more. She would be happier knowing if her son was dead, or if he wasn't. At least then her mind would be at peace and she could come to terms with the facts. The truth was, the uncertainty worried her. It wasn't like Jeff to just up and leave, and he hadn't sent out any form of mayday. The older woman had a feeling that there was more to Jeff's disappearance than met the eye.

She wasn't about to tell the young brothers that though, she wouldn't give them any false hope. No, for now, things could stay as they were.

As she passed John a mug of coffee she smiled softly to him. Yes, things could stay as they were, but some new female company wouldn't go amiss.


	6. Chapter 6

Staring out into the depths of space, Scott's thoughts began to drift to his parents. From his spot, curled up on the sofa in the den, he could see the dwarf star John had named in memory of their mother. He couldn't help but wonder if his parents were together, wherever they were. Had his father suffered the same fate as his mother? Or was there something more going on? Scott didn't find it plausible that their father would be hiding somewhere, not for a year, not without some sort of signal.

"Trust me," Scott jumped at the voice behind him, "Staring out there just raises more questions than it answers,"

Scott looked to his brother and shook his head, "I wasn't expecting you for another hour, how did you get in?"

John smirked as he sat next to his brother, leaning forward as he watched the stars. He didn't have to be on his 'Bird to be able to get access like the others, "I overwrote the system from 'Three," He explained, having thought Scott would have guessed for himself. Then again, it had been a busy few days. Scott had been up all hours dealing with calls and trying to get on top of Tracy Enterprises paperwork while he had the space away from his brothers. The brothers had hardly had time to chat between missions and such. The oldest Tracy son had enjoyed the peace while he had been alone on 'Five, but he much preferred the busyness of the island.

Scott looked across to his brother, he was quieter than usual, especially for being back on his 'Bird after a few days away. He didn't push though, he knew better than to do that with Johnny. Scott knew that John would talk in his own time, but he didn't expect it to be so soon.

"You know the Redhead?" John murmured, his gaze looking out much further than the stars Scott could see before them.

Unsure where his brother was heading with the conversation, Scott nodded, "Yeah, Evie wasn't it?"

He noticed John's mouth twitch up at the mention of the woman's name, and was quick to catch on. John was serious about her. Scott's little brother was serious about a woman. The older boy wanted to laugh and cheer, pleased for John, but something told him the celebrations would have to wait.

John couldn't help but want to smile at his girlfriend's name. After Kayo had checked her out, he had had a long video call with Evie to explain everything. The woman had been shocked and surprised at first, but had been understanding once John had explained the whole story to her and the pair had agreed that it didn't change much.

John looked up to his only older brother and winced as he admitted, "She knows."

Scott frowned, not understanding John's two word sentence. She knew. What did she know?

As he opened his mouth to ask the question, Scott's eyes brushed over his brothers uniform. Evie knew.

"Evie knows about International Rescue?" He asked, trying to work out how it had happened. None of the brothers had been remotely near her home town, and John hadn't had the time to disappear off to meet her. John wouldn't tell her, Scott was sure of that. He had said it himself though, Evie knew.

John sat back, Scott turned to him, frowning in confusion as his brother smiled, "Please, enlighten me, little brother."

John laughed this time, "What is it Scotty? Do you not like being out of the loop?"

Scott folded his arms and frowned at John, waiting for him to stop laughing, wanting to hear his explanation.

John sat forward, a smile still playing on his lips as he explained to Scott what had happened in Cape Town. He hadn't expected his brother to find it all so entertaining, but he did, and John supposed that Scott laughing was better than him being angry. Even when he told his brother that he'd been in contact with Evie since, Scott wasn't cross. The oldest brother seemed genuinely happy for his younger sibling.

Scott shook his head, still smiling, at the end of the explanation, "So, who's going to be the best man?"

John laughed and threw a cushion at his brothers head, uttering as he did, "Shut up," He checked his watch and sighed, where had time gone? The pair needed to be heading off if they wanted to be home in time for supper.

Scott must have realised this too, "Come on, we can talk on our way home."

John nodded and got up, going to set 'Fives systems to auto while his brother changed.

* * *

Scott glanced to John as they detached from 'Five, "Do you want to nip over to see Evie before going home?"

He couldn't help but laugh as John gave him a sideways glance, "Sure, because what better way to turn up at your girlfriend's house uninvited, than to arrive in a giant, bright red, rocket,"

Scott laughed, thinking back to his high school days and all the times he had turned up at his girlfriend's house in his Dad's classic, red, Mustang. John was thinking about the same thing, smirking at the memory, "Dad went mad at you for taking his Mustang,"

Scott grinned, "He didn't mind really, it was the only action it ever saw,"

John opened his mouth to reply but frowned as a red light lit up on the dash. He reached up and flicked a switch, refiring the booster that seemed to be having some sort of issue. The light remained on.

Scott had also picked up on the light and was watching it carefully, trying to reassure himself as he stated, "We can manage with just two boosters, right?"

He caught John's hesitant glance, knowing that both of them had only ever landed with two boosters within the safety of the simulator. John was quick to nod though, "Yeah, we'll manage," His face fell as a second light came on, two out of the three now, "Okay… I've never done it on one,"

The two boys shared a worried glance, Scott gripping the controls a little tighter, "Is it possible?"

John pursed his lips, trying to think through all the schematics but still coming up blank, "I don't know," He leant forward and flicked on the comms, "Tracy Island from 'Three, anybody there?"

"Hey Johnny, how's things goin'?"

He was more than grateful when Alan replied almost straight away. His slight relief was short lived as gravity took a hold and the rocket sped up. One booster wasn't enough to counter the pull of earth's gravity. Unless they got a second booster back online they'd be going too fast to be able to land safely.

"We're having trouble with the boosters Alan," Scott informed his brother, "Two of them have gone offline, any ideas?"

The oldest boy know that his brother was too quiet on the other end of the line, instantly picking up on the seriousness of the situation. He didn't need to be able to see him to know that Alan was suddenly, very, worried. Keeping himself as calm as possible Scott passed on as much as he knew to his youngest brother.

Alan was quiet as there came a dull tapping from his end of the line. Scott could guess that he was trying to get into the system to see exactly what was happening. The older boy kept quiet, letting himself be pushed back into his seat as they started the burn. Next to him, John was still trying to work out just what was wrong with the boosters. Scott closed his eyes, they couldn't do anything until they were well into the atmosphere. That wouldn't give them long to find a solution, especially if they were in free fall.

"What's your altitude?" Alan asked, John responded with some random number. It didn't take Scott long to do the maths, at their current speed, they had a little more than fifteen minutes until they hit. That was another problem, one booster made it hard to steer and Scott wasn't sure where they were aiming at.

Scott forced himself forward a little, "Alan, where are we on course for right now?"

"Erm," Alan responded before cursing loudly, "Rio, but we'll have this sorted soon, it'll be fine."

"What's the p-p-pr-issue?" Brains' voice asked next. Alan was quick to explain the problem to the genius and it didn't take him long to think of a solution, "J-John, would you know how to divert all the power to one of the other boosters?"

John thought quickly, easily picturing the wiring diagrams in his head. It would take some time, but he was fairly certain he could do it with Brains' guidance. He glanced across to his older brother, "Can you hold her?"

Scott nodded back to him, "Yeah, go and do whatever you need to,"

"The toolkit is in the panel next to the elev-"

John laughed and cut his brother off, "I know Alan, I put it there."

Scott let out a breath as he took what little control he could of the rocket. Silently he was trying to reassure himself that they could do it and everything would be fine.

"How long do we have Alan?" Scott asked, trying to work out what he could do. Alan took a long minute to reply, "Accounting for weather conditions? I'd guess twenty minutes,"

Longer than I thought, Scott told himself, but it still might not be long enough, "Get the others on standby,"

"F-A-B," Alan responded.

The youngest Tracy called his brothers watches, grateful that they responded straight away. They'd been down on the beach, completely oblivious to the drama that was unfolding, "Guys, you need to get 'Two on standby," He ordered, trying not to smile at the feeling of being in control for once.

The two were immediately on their way back, Kayo following, "What's up Allie?"

Alan swallowed, watching the screens in front of him, "Three is loosing power to its boosters for some reason,"

He wasn't surprised that the older two boys swore, but he did find it strange that Kayo hesitated as they stepped into the control centre. Her glance shooting across to the hologram of John that Brains was talking to. Alan chose to ignore the pained look that crossed Kayo's face and looked to his brothers, "Go and get ready for launch, we don't kn-" He was cut off by a hiss of, "Yes," From John, "We've got a booster back."

Scott sighed in relief as he gained more control of the rocket, now able to steer it towards home. They were still going a little too fast, but at least they weren't going to crash into a densely populated area.

 _That would have been hard to explain_ , he thought to himself as John took his seat back at the main deck. John looked to the comms and Scott could see that he was still slightly uneasy. He had every right to be uneasy though, 'Three was designed to work on three boosters, not two. Though, they knew that two was better than one, everyone was still cautious of what could happen, "You'd better stay on standby guys, just incase,"

On the screen the other three brothers nodded, "F-A-B."

Virgil added afterwards, "I'll fly out with 'Two anyway, just in case,"

Scott nodded, grateful that his brother had come up with the idea, it was a form of reassurance for all of them. If something went wrong now, at least they were closer to home and nowhere near a populated area. Scott knew from experience that it was easier to fish things out of a deserted ocean rather than a crowded city.

Scott looked to John and smirked, finally relieved that the situation was in hand, "And here you are complaining that you never get to see any action,"

John laughed with a shake of his head, thinking back to what little time he had spent on the Island while he had been on earth, "Sure, because the endless calls this week weren't enough,"

Scott sighed and leant back, realising how much he had missed commanding from his 'Bird, "I'll be glad to be back to normal," He caught John raise an eyebrow and had to bite his lip to stop a laugh from emerging. Scott knew exactly what his brother was implying- things would never be normal in their lives, especially not with the second oldest having a love interest.

"What's normal John?" Scott laughed, "I don't think I've ever come across that concept."

John laughed with a slight shake of his head. He could only hope that Evie had some idea of what kind of madness was involved in everyday life for the Tracy's. Things would never be normal for them. Things would never be simple either. John should have known that, he saw all the goings on everywhere in the world, and he read enough fiction books to know that a problem was never fixed as easily as rewiring something.

Yet, he was still surprised when the power failure warning flagged up on a screen. He cursed quietly and flicked various switches on and off, pressing buttons and trying to work out where exactly they were losing power to.

"What's the problem?" Alan asked from the control room, Kayo leaning over his shoulder.

Scott looked to John for an explanation but the blonde brother could only shake his head, "We've lost all power for some reason, something's shutting down the system."

Alan frowned and shared a concerned look with Kayo, "Something?"

He didn't appreciate John's snort implying something was obvious, "Now really isn't the time to be finding out what it is, Sprout, we just need to be fixing it,"

Alan heard Kayo's obvious gulp before she asked, "What can you do?"

John sighed on the other end of the line, he sounded almost sorry as he replied, "I don't think I can do anything,"

Desperately, Alan and Kayo looked over their shoulders to the resident boffin, "Brains, what can he do?"

The spectacled man looked up from his holopad, "I'm working on something, but it may take a few minutes."

Alan pursed his lips and looked to the screens showing all the information, including the predicted flight path. His brothers didn't have a few minutes.

Scott and John knew that they were losing altitude too quickly, they'd be dumped in the ocean before any temporary patches could be made to the system. The pair looked to each other, each recognising the fear on the others face. Scott was fairly sure that neither had looked at the other in such a way since Gordon's Hydrofoil accident, and the only time he could think of before then was when they had found out about the avalanche that killed their mother.

"Guys, five minutes and we'll be up to you," Virgil cut into their silent thoughts, "Okay, you've just gotta hang in there."

Scott shook his head and looked back to the screen, "We're in free fall, we've not got any control, five minutes won't cut it,"

Blocking off the argument his immediate older and younger brothers were having, John looked to the comms and murmured softly, "Hey, Kayo?"

She nodded slightly and murmured back just as softly, "I know John."

He smiled softly in return and took a breath, trying to reboot the boosters one final time. The water seemed to be approaching them faster, hitting it would be like hitting a brick wall. As he had expected, the boosters didn't boot. All he could do was sit back in his seat and hold on tightly.

They must have been only a meter from the surface waves as he glanced to Scott, in the same brace position as himself. With a heavy swallow he said to his older brother, "Thank you."

Scott looked across and smiled softly, "You too."

Then there was only blackness.


	7. Chapter 7

Virgil looked up from the bandage he was wrapping around John's head, as the infirmary door opened.

"Here, have some coffee," Grandma held out a mug to her middle grandson. She glanced to Gordon and Kayo that stood awkwardly along the wall opposite the beds the eldest Tracy boys were resting in. She would never see them as men, she knew that, they were still the little kids that she used to pick up from school and sing to sleep. Sure, they might all be officially adults, but at heart they were still just boys with some rather expensive toys.

With a sigh she sat lightly on Scott's bed, "How are they?"

She didn't like how Virgil hesitated before replying, "They've both got a concussion."

The middle son sighed as he fastened the bandage and sipped his coffee, "How long has it been Gords?"

He was grateful that his younger brother answered promptly, "Fifteen minutes,"

Virgil leant against the wall by the door, rubbing a hand over his face. He couldn't help but feel like he was partly to blame. It had been his idea to fire the grappling lines on to 'Three, jerking it to a halt before it could hit the water. He had been too late to realise that the sudden halt would cause his older two brothers some sort of injury.

"Stop blaming yourself Virgil," Kayo murmured, making his head snap up to look at her. He wasn't surprised she had noticed, Kayo always seemed to notice when there was something up with the boys. Virgil was convinced she had come some sort of sixth sense.

He didn't get chance to contemplate it much more though as there was a groan from John's bed. Everyone jumped forward to see to him, "John!"

"I'm fine," John groaned, groggily waving them off. His head ached and his neck felt stiff, he frowned, trying to remember what had happened. He sighed as Virgil poked and prodded him, "Virg, I'm fine," He tried to insist, gently nudging his brother away, "What happened?" Noticing that Alan wasn't present he added, "Where's Allie?"

Kayo scoffed, "More concerned about his 'Bird than you two,"

At the mention of Thunderbird Three, John remembered just what had happened. His back slouched back into the pillows, against the protest of his neck. They'd been about to hit the water, and then he'd blacked out.

He looked across to the next bed, Scott was still out of it. His eldest brother looked a little pale and had a bit of a bruise forming on his shoulder, but the damage didn't look too bad. Looks could be deceiving though, "How's Scott?"

"Sore," There was a soft groan from the bed next to him making John smirk, partly in relief, partly in amusement. The smother hen was going to get smothered himself now. It would be a nice change, and a good chance for Scott to get a taste of his own medicine.

Scott sighed and lifted a hand to his throbbing head with another groan, "What the hell happened?"

He knew it was pointless asking the question, he was in no fit state to take in whatever answer his brothers gave him. He felt the bed dip slightly and smiled softly to his Grandma as she shook her head, "You boys, what are you trying to do to me?"

"Sorry Grandma," Scott murmured tiredly, "Blame Alan, it was his 'Bird that shut down on us,"

He heard his immediate younger brother snort from the other bed, "Yeah, and he's more bothered about it than us!"

Scott smiled, relief washing over him. They were both back and safe. There hadn't been any reason to be worried. Their brothers had gotten to them in time, just, and everything had worked out fine.

"How are you feeling, Johnny?" He knew that the name would wind his brother up. That's why he'd used it, to see just how fine his brother really was.

As he had expected John sighed, "Don't call me that."

Kayo smiled at the two men in the beds, "Yeah, they're both fine," She confirmed to herself, sharing a knowing smirk with Gordon. She pushed away from the wall, "I'll go and find Alan,"

Her keen eye didn't miss Scott raise an eyebrow as she turned to leave, and he spoke too soon before the door had swung fully shut behind her, "Is there something going on with them again?"

It was Gordon that replied, "Nope, they've not been together since before she left,"

Kayo sighed and pushed the thought out of her head. Not wanting to think about what had happened to her long term relationship with the youngest brother. Things weren't exactly awkward between them now, but they weren't the friends and lovers that they had once been. Yet, she didn't know what she could do to fix it.

* * *

Down in the diagnostics lab of Thunderbird Three's silo, Alan frowned at the computer. One minute all of the systems on his 'Bird had been fine, the next, they were all shutting down. He had tried several simulations, trying to work out what they could have done to fix the problem, but nothing seemed to be helping.

His thoughts drifted back to his brothers upstairs in the infirmary, his 'Bird had almost killed them. Scott didn't like flying 'Three to start with, Alan knew his brother found the taller craft less maneuverable compared to the nifty silver 'Bird. Maneuverability wasn't in Alan's interest though, speed was his preference.

His head snapped up as he heard Kayo's call from the sofa, "Alan?"

"Diagnostics room!" He called back, still focusing on the screen.

 _It's like something just switched her off,_ He thought to himself as the door opened and Kayo stepped in, "John and Scott are awake,"

Alan hid his frown, normally everyone put the eldests name first, especially Kayo. Something else had bothered him too earlier, when John had asked for her and she had said she knew. He couldn't help but feel like there was something going on between his ex girlfriend and his brother, even though he knew that John simply wouldn't do that to him.

"That's good," He forced a smile to her and glanced back to the screen, "Are they okay?"

Kayo nodded, confused as to why he wasn't already heading up to see his oldest two brothers, "Yeah, just minor concussions."

"Good," Was all Alan responded, confusing her even more, he'd been off with her since she had stepped into the Command and Control centre earlier. The more she thought about it the more she realised that Alan had been off for the last few days, ever since the Cape Town mission. She briefly wondered if leaving him at home had upset him, that was the only explanation she could come up with.

"Is something wrong?" She asked quietly, deciding it was best to nip things in the bud.

Alan pursed his lips though, things had been wrong for a long time. First she had left and refused to contact him, then she comes back as if nothing happened. Now she was having secret, ciphered conversations, with his brother. Yet, he still found himself snapping to her that he was fine.

Kayo had never just taken his word though, she always knew how to read into what he was saying. That's why Alan had always felt like she understood him, because she did.

She had pushed him away though, when she had left and gone to college. His phone calls went unanswered and his texts never even read. Then the girl had the audacity to return to International Rescue and pretend nothing had ever happened between them, just weeks before his father had disappeared.

Kayo wasn't letting it lie though, "Your two oldest brother just narrowly escaped what could have been a major incident," Kayo exclaimed, "You're meant to be happy!"

She stepped back as the man stood and turned on her. He may have been six months younger than her, but the boy she had known had grown up and filled out. With a start, Kayo realised that she wasn't sure exactly _when_ he had become more of a man rather than a boy. To his brothers though, Alan would always be a baby that needed their protection.

Kayo reached to touch Alan's arm, she hated him being upset and wished he would just open up to her. They'd grown up together on the island, did he not realise she could read him like the proverbial book?

"Will you please tell me what's upset you?" She pushed, sighing in exasperation as Alan turned his back on her again.

"Alan!" She snapped, making him pause as he went to walk away. Nobody had ever been able to make him hesitate like Kayo could. He didn't know why but something always made him pause for her.

Her voice was softer, more like the old Kayo, when she continued, "Don't coop it all up Alan, it just builds and builds until you hurt someone you love," He wasn't sure if he imagined the final whisper of, "Until you hurt me,"

Slowly, he turned to face her, hesitant to meet her gaze as he whispered, "What if the damage is already done?"

He saw the moment she caught on to what he was saying- She frowned at him, but her face seemed to have a new understanding. As her face changed, she stepped over to him, reaching out to take his hands, "Alan," She sighed, "Is this because I left after my father died? Because-"

He cut her off knowing what she had already told him, "You left because it hurt too much to stay," He nodded, "Yeah, so you keep saying,"

He didn't realise how much his words cut into Kayo, he had felt abandoned by her. Alan had never admitted it to anyone, but he had been heartbroken when Kayo had asked to give the relationship a break. When a six week break, became six months, and six months became a year, Alan realised that it wasn't a break Kayo had wanted. All she had ever wanted was an end to the relationship. Neither of them had ever confirmed it, but Alan believed that had been what she had wanted. A clean break and a fresh start.

"So why did you come back?"

His question caught Kayo off guard. She had always planned on coming back, eventually. The time had never been just right. Not until she had seen the boys on Colonel Casey's ship, after rescuing a GDF aircraft that had gotten into trouble. It had been on one of Alan's rotations of 'Five, but all it had taken was John giving her a gentle nudge for her to realise she was ready to come home.

When she had returned though, and Alan came home, she realised that he had changed. He wasn't the boy that she had crushed on since they had met, and he wasn't the man that she had fallen in love with. It had been somewhere between the two.

Alan had never been cold to her when they had been reunited, neither of them ever could be. But he had been more reserved than she had ever known him to be. The two had both been so open before she had left, she couldn't help but feel like Alan had been pushing her away. So, she let him; even though it had broken her heart. She saw him every day but hardly ever got a smile or a laugh caused by her. Only Alan's brothers could make him laugh these days.

 _So, why did I come back?_ She asked herself, looking up to meet Alan's tired blue eyes, his blonde hair still damp and sticking out at random angles. Deep down she had always known the answer, she had just been too scared to talk to Alan and find out how he really felt.

With a hard swallow to shift the heavy lump in her throat, Kayo looked down, "I came back, because I love you."

Alan frowned, sure he had misheard her. The words slipped past his lips without any permission from his brain, "You love me?"

He shook his head, trying to get rid of the little voice that was yelling at him, insisting that she did love him as he loved her. She had left and had refused to keep in touch.

He frowned more as she laughed softly, "Of course I love you Alan, I've never had eyes for anyone else!"

He looked down to her, his heart thudding too loudly in his ears, "But… John?"

Kayo frowned and shook her head, "What about him?"

Alan glanced past her, out to the 'Bird that had almost killed the brother he felt jealous of, "You were always having private chats," He stated as it slowly crept up on him. At the same time Kayo nodded and explained, "Who doesn't have private chats with John?" She raised an eyebrow, fighting a smirk, "Tell me you didn't think-"

Alan groaned and fell back onto the sofa, "God I feel like an idiot! Scott told me that John persuaded you to come back."

Kayo laughed and sat next to him, "Alan, John told me that you were really upset, that's why I came back!" She took his hand, her voice turning softer as she added, "But, you came home and I felt like you were shutting me out," She trailed off, he could guess the rest.

Alan frowned as he sat up, twisting to face her properly, " _I_ shut you out?" He rolled his eyes, "I thought that you didn't want anything to do with me! Changing your nickname, never calling me back, I thought-"

"What?" Kayo cut him off, "You never called me!" She exclaimed, remembering the night she had thrown her phone at a wall and broken it. Her back slouched as she realised what had happened, "I will kill that fish faced brother of yours,"

Alan frowned, not understanding what Gordon had to do with any of it. Kayo couldn't help but laugh at the simple mistake. Both had thought the other was upset with them when really neither were.

"I threw my phone at a wall and broke it," She admitted quietly to Alan, a smirk fighting its way onto her face, "I asked Gordon to tell you that I had a new number…"

Alan laughed, "And he never told me."

He smiled as Kayo stepped up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, "We can get payback on him later,"

She looked up to him with a cheeky smile, "But how about a trip to the mainland to start off your birthday weekend?"

Alan pursing his lips, the only thing stopping him from agreeing was his brothers. Kayo had insisted that they were fine though, and he'd only be an hour away if they needed him. He looked down to the olive skinned, dark haired woman, "So, we're just picking up where we left off?"

Kayo smiled back to him, "I'm sorry that 'break' turned out to be a bit longer than we expected,"

Alan didn't hide the grin that spread across his face as his stomach flipped, "Well, let's go and start up Tracy One then."

He held tightly onto her hand as they turned and headed towards the hanger, having the other there made it just a little easier for the other to stay afloat.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N Sorry it's short, hopefully they'll start to get a bit longer soon. Just wanted to mention for the whole book and my others, that I'm sorry if my facts aren't exactly right, shall we just call it artistic license and leave it at that? Thanks for reading!

* * *

Scott looked to his younger brother as Virgil, Grandma, and Gordon went to investigate the sound of a plane taking off, "You don't fancy making a break for it, do you?"

John let out a short sharp laugh, "And face Virg when he finds out? No thank you!"

Scott sighed and folded his arms, he hated being stuck in bed, he couldn't do anything productive. All he really could do was sit and stare at the walls. At least when he was stuck on 'Five, he could use his free time to get on with paperwork.

"Do you think Alan is mad?" John asked as he lay back against the pillows, closing his eyes to try and help ease the ache in his head. He was confused that Scott sounded surprised when he replied, "Mad? Why would he be mad?"

John half opened one eye to look to his only older brother, "Well, we did almost dump his 'Bird in the sea," He knew that he would be pretty mad if any of his brothers had purposefully harmed his 'Bird.

As always though, Scott had the voice of reason, "We couldn't help it, it was like something took over the system," John nodded slightly in agreement, they'd tried everything they could to get back online but it just hadn't worked. Something was niggling John though, he couldn't help but feel like his youngest brother had been avoiding him for the last few days.

"Has he said anything to you while you've been on 'Five?" John asked Scott, "He's seemed a little… off,"

Scott frowned as he sat up, concerned for his youngest brother, knowing he had an awful habit of cooping things up, "Alan?"

John nodded slightly and Scott caught the wince, they both had stiff necks and shoulders where the seat restraints had dug in. Scott was more concerned about his younger brother though.

"Yeah, it's like he's been avoiding me."

"Avoiding you?" Scott raised an eyebrow, John was a mentor to Alan, the two blonds had always stuck together. Now Alan was avoiding John? That didn't sit so well with Scott, "Why?"

"He always finds an excuse to just not be around me at the moment, even when Kayo asked him if he wanted to join us on a hike," John explained, rolling onto his side to face Scott.

Scott sat back and frowned to himself, that wasn't like Alan. Alan always wanted to be on the go, he'd never refused a hike.

"Looks like we were wrong," Gordon announced as he pushed the door open into the infirmary, "Alan and Kayo have gone,"

"Gone?" Scott raised an eyebrow, "Where?"

Gordon smirked, his eyes twinkling with mischief, "Well, apparently, they've just booked the most expensive hotel suite in Sydney for the weekend,"

John raised an eyebrow and looked to Scott, "So that's what's been up with him?"

"Oh let them be!" Grandma came in and gave the three boys a stern look, they should worry about their own private lives rather than that of their youngest brother, "It's nice to hear them both so happy again, and when are the rest of you going to bring some ladies home?"

She smiled as Scott and John shared a knowing up, she was sure they were hiding something. It wasn't in her nature to force the boys to share their private lives, they would talk to someone about it when the time was right.

"Now," She held out the laptop to Scott, "Virgil said I should give you this to keep you quiet, John, is there anything you'd like?"

Her second Grandson shook his head, "No thanks Grandma, I'm just going to have a sleep,"

She nodded to him and smiled, "Good boy, at least one of you can do as you're told,"

Gordon laughed as Scott looked up and frowned, "Hey, nobody said I couldn't get on with some work!"

Grandma shook her head, "You should be resting, but your brother insists you'll just keep John from resting if I didn't give you that," She nodded to the laptop, "So it's for the greater good."

Scott smiled to himself, "Okay, well I promise to get some rest Grandma, if you make Gordon and Virgil some cookies for all the trouble we've caused them, right John?"

John shook his head as Scott hid his grin, Gordon's face was slowly turning red, they knew an outburst was coming. Scott just smiled sweetly to Grandma as she nodded, "Of course, I'm sure your brothers would love that,"

"Thanks Grandma!" Scott called as she left.

As soon as the door shut, Gordon burst, "Why did you have to go and do that? It's Virgil keeping out in here!"

Scott checked that Grandma really was gone before replying, "Yeah, but what better chance than to get one up on you?"

He couldn't help but chuckle at his brothers immaturity as he stormed out of the room.

John shook his head, "You know he's going to have it out for you now, as soon as you're out of that bed?"

Scott nodded, "I'll just have to watch my back.

John sighed and leant back against the pillows, everything finally catching up on him. Alan and Kayo had gone to Sydney. He was a tiny bit jealous, Evie had told him she had been headed there to help out on a search and rescue team for a few weeks before she headed home to the States. He knew Virgil would have both him and Scott under close observation for a while now, no chance of him getting away to see her. Unfortunately, a first date would have to wait.

His eyes slipped closed to the tap tap tapping of the keys on Scott's laptop and he couldn't help but smile softly at his brothers attachment to the old technology as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

In the middle of Sydney harbor, a young man and woman were each enjoying a glass of champagne, celebrating a toast to their renewed relationship. The woman was thinking about all the posters she had seen around the city, advertising a charity race through the city streets in two days time, coincidentally, Alan's birthday.

"What are you thinking about?" Alan asked softly, brushing a stray strand of black hair off of Kayo's face. She couldn't help but smile as the gesture sent sparks flying across her skin and she leant into his touch.

She looked back to the lights of the city, "Just the race that's going on this weekend."

Alan smiled and followed her gaze, he had also noticed the posters and had been so tempted to sign up. It had been too long since he'd been behind the wheel of a good race car. It was on his birthday though, and he knew that his brothers had gone to a lot of effort of planning a family party at the Island.

"Me too," He sighed, "But the others will be expecting us back,"

He smiled softly as Kayo rolled onto her side on the deck of the boat, leaning against his torso for support as she looked up to him, "It's your birthday," She pointed out, "You get to choose, I'm sure they'd understand."

He knew she was right, if he told his brothers that he wanted to race, they'd probably all fly out to watch. They could have the party another time, there was always times for parties, but when would he next get to race if he didn't take this chance?

Kayo smiled up to Alan, she could see how desperate he was to take the offer and run with it. All he needed was a little nudge to set things in motion, "Come on, everyone will go mad to see you back on the circuit!" She insisted, as his face lit up, thinking back to all the times he had gone into races and all the times he had come back in such a thrilled mood whether he had won or not.

It only took him another minute to nod, "I'll do it,"

Kayo laughed and leant up to kiss his cheek, enjoying the romance while it lasted. The pair had agreed that there would be no PDAs in front of the other brothers, they knew that they would never hear the end of it. For now, romance would be strictly limited to their private time, ideally as far away from the brothers as they could get.

* * *

"Well," A dark, smooth voice said into the darkness, "How convenient, young Alan has taken the bait," You could hear the smile in their voice, not a pleasant smile though, one that seeped terror and evil into every word, "I wonder how the race will end? It would be such a tragedy if something happened to the boy on the day he became an adult, wouldn't it now?"

A grunt came from the darkness, but it was drowned out by a quiet chuckle. A chuckle of sadism and revenge. The chuckle of an evil man.


	9. Chapter 9

"Well," Virgil pushed himself out from under the red car, marked appropriately with a white three on its bonnet, "It doesn't look any worse for sitting here to me,"

Alan turned around from where he had been promising his older brother that he would be careful out on the track later that afternoon, "Awesome."

Scott shook his head and looked to his Grandma, wondering why she had encouraged the Sprout to enter the race. They should have been on the Island preparing for a party, instead they had left Brains in charge and were here to watch the youngest throw himself around the streets of Sydney in what Scott saw as a red tin can.

The oldest brother knew his worry was uncalled for, his brother had raced hundreds of times, most of them before he even had his licence. He couldn't help but fret though, freak accidents could happen at any time without any warning. They out of all people knew that.

John patted his older brother's shoulder, "Don't fret so much, the Sprout knows what he's doing,"

Scott threw a sideways glance to his brother, the cut from their 'almost crash' as Gordon had dubbed it, was still a raw scab above his eye, "One of us has to worry,"

He hadn't realised Grandma had overheard him talking, "If any of us should be worrying, it should be me. But do I look worried to you?"

His Grandma had a point, her Grandsons were all she had. The poor woman had lost a husband and three sons, she had every right to be worried about losing a Grandson. Yet, she seemed to have more faith than ever in Alan's driving ability.

The adrenaline was already coursing through Alan's body, making his skin tingle and spark as his hand glided over the smooth varnish of red paint on the car. He couldn't wait to be back in the driving seat, it was the one place he was truly in control and got to make all the decisions. With his brothers hovering though he couldn't concentrate on the race to come. He turned to them and waved his arms in a shooing motion, "Right," He told them, "You lot had better go and get a good spot, I need to get in the zone,"

He didn't miss his middle brother rolling his eyes with a smile, "Is this _zone_ the same as Gordon's _Squid sense_?" He teased.

The two youngest brother glared at Virgil with folded arms, making the others laugh.

"Come on," Scott encouraged, "Before Sprout decides to run you over,"

Alan smiled at his oldest brother, "I'll see you guys at the finishing line!"

Grandma waggled a finger at the youngest, "And you'd better be first there!"

Kayo hesitated as the others left, "You'll be careful?"

Alan smiled, stepping over to wrap his arms around her waist, "One, my name is not Gordon, and, two, I always am. Don't you think Scott's drilled it into me by now?"

His smile widened as her head rested on his shoulder, simply her presence calmed his nerves a little. He knew that she would always worry, even though he faced much more dangerous situations on a daily basis. Her worrying didn't bother him though, it only went to show how much she cared for him. In the same way he worried for her whenever she was out of touch, it was only because he cared for her.

The young woman reached up to kiss his cheek, his words and gentle hug were convincing enough for Kayo. He'd be careful, he wouldn't dare take any risks and put his family through anymore trauma than needed.

"I love you," He murmured to her, kissing her cheek in return.

Kayo smiled and stepped away, "Good luck."

Left in peace, Alan turned to his car, climbing in and leaning back in the drivers seat. He closed his eyes feeling the material of his race-suit mould against the cushioning of the seat. His gloved hands automatically found their way to the steering wheel. Through his nose he sucked in a slow breath before letting it out through his mouth. Outside of the garage he could her the roar of another car's engine and the high cheer of the crowd. His family were out there in that crowd, cheering him on, willing him to win.

He could do this.

The side door to the dark garage opened, letting in a small rectangle of sunlight, "We're ready when you are Mr Tracy,"

Alan smirked and reached over to the passenger seat for his helmet, "It's Alan, Mr Tracy is my Dad's name,"

The race official smiled and nodded, "Sorry, Alan,"

Alan flicked on the inbuilt radio of his helmet, giving him a direct feed to his family, before pulling it onto his head. He nodded to the official and started the engine, "Let's do this."

The main door to the garage opened up, briefly blinding Alan. He looked up to the sky and swallowed hard, knowing his Mom would be watching wherever she was, it comforted him to believe that he father was with her.

Yes, that was a reassuring thought. Alan smiled as the car rolled forward, "I'll make you proud," He murmured, "All of you."

* * *

Scott frowned and looked over his shoulder, "Where'd John go?" He asked his family as they headed towards the finishing line.

Everyone else looked around and shrugged, but Scott had already answered his own question, having spotted the nearby medical tent in the crowd. He looked to his family and nodded in the general direction of the finishing line, "I'll find him and we'll catch you guys up."

He smiled as they turned away, it would have been cruel to lead them to John and his new girlfriend. As he had expected, he found the blond and the red head laughing at the door of the empty tent.

He couldn't help but let his stomach twist slightly in envy at John. Scott hadn't realised until then that he wanted what his brother had. He wasn't exactly young anymore, it wouldn't be long before he was another decade older. Yet, he was very much single. His player days were far behind him and all his brothers were big enough to look after themselves now. Maybe it was time for him to find someone and settle down. Perhaps he'd give that dating website a go that John had used.

John frowned as Evie glanced past his shoulder again, "There's a guy there watching us," She explained to him, biting her lip as a blush rose up her pale cheeks. John took her hand in reassurance, glancing over his shoulder and quickly relaxing. He chuckled and kissed Evie's cheek, "That's Scott," He murmured in her ear, "Or, Smother Hen, as we like to call him,"

Evie laughed, making John's heart swell, such a light, carefree sound amongst the hubbub of the race crowd.

He guided her over to his brother, trying very hard to ignore Scott's smirk, "Evie, this is my brother, Scott. Scott, this is Evie,"

Scott grinned and took the lady's hand, "A pleasure to finally meet you,"

John rolled his eyes, of course his brother, the charmer, always a flirt. He couldn't help but smile as he explained to his brother, "Evie's staying over here with family friends for a few weeks, before going onto a space medic programme back in the States."

Scott couldn't help but chuckle, of course the pair had a shared interest in space. What good would it be if she wasn't trained for life in space? Scott couldn't see his younger brother giving up his time on 'Five entirely, but could the relationship survive otherwise?

 _It's none of your business, Scott._ He reminded himself.

"Well the race is going to start soon," Scott told his brother and smiled again to Evie, "I'm sure you can catch up later?"

John rolled his eyes, taking the hint, his brother were suspicious already. He turned to Evie and kissed her cheek, ignoring Scott's cough as he headed off. Evie smiled and pulled back, "We can do this later," She murmured, "Your brother is about to start his race,"

John chuckled at her bossiness, "I'll find you as soon as I can," He pecked her cheek again, "I love you,"

Evie sighed as she pulled back, "I love you too."

* * *

"Woohoo!" Alan cheered as he sped off from the starting blocks, "Let's go!"

On the other end of the radio his brothers laughed, "Just take care out there, Sprout," One of them warned as he sped into the first corner, easing off the gas just a fraction as another car cut in front of him. Alan bit his tongue, not daring to swear where his brothers could hear him. Behind the visor of his helmet he grinned as he pulled onto a straight, weaving in and out of the other cars until he was at the front.

Scott and John shared a glance as they watched their brothers car take a corner a fraction tighter than he should have. They knew that the Sprout knew what he was doing, but that didn't make them comfortable with it. All it took was a moment's lapse and catastrophe could strike.

"That was a bit tight Sprout," John commented over the radio in caution, "Are you trying to give Scott extra greys or something?"

Alan didn't laugh like the others had expected, making the family share worried glances. Scott took the radio, "Sprout? You there?"

"Yeah," Alan replied this time, "But my steering had literally just gone out of sync, I think I can manage though,"

Scott bit his tongue, wanting to fuss and fret but choosing not to. Alan was an adult now, he could manage. Fussing would just distract him more than necessary.

Scott blew out a long breath as his brother entered the last corner of the race, again cutting it close. A few more seconds and he'd be on the home straight. There was a gasp over the radio as the red car skidded and spun.

"I've lost control!" Alan yelled over the radio, trying to hide the panic from his voice.

Scott looked to his left, sharing a wide eyed look with John. The older of the two nodded, "Go, find Evie,"

Before any of the others could ask who Evie was, they all took in a sharp breath. Alan's car had caught something in the road, causing it to rise up into the air. Around the boys there was various gasps and shrieks from the crowd. In the corner of his eye Scott could see the other drivers being diverted away from the car with the smoking bonnet.

Before they could be stopped, Scott was over the crash barriers, sprinting across the street towards his brothers car. It didn't take him long to spot the liquid on the black tarmac, shining rainbow colours in the sunlight. He glanced back to his other brothers, not daring to let them anywhere close to the danger, not on that day, "Stay there!" He yelled at them before carrying on on his own.

Alan groaned as he felt the heat on his skin, it was coming from the front of the car. The smell of burning petrol was scarily familiar to him from various missions. He remembered the car skidding, and his efforts to correct its path. He obviously hadn't been successful though.

He gasped as the door was yanked open, not fully registering that he was in a burning vehicle. Scott leant into the car and popped the safety harness before dragging his brother out, "Come on Al, work with me Sprout,"

Alan groaned as he stood upright, something shifting in his chest uncomfortably, tightening and constricting each breath he took. He let Scott take most of his weight, hardly able to hear his voice over the yells of the crowd, "Al, we need to run, just for a minute, that car's going to blow,"

Alan moaned in protest, his leg refusing to take his own weight, his vision blurring. The crash helmet hadn't done much, his head was throbbing from the flip the car had made. Every part of the young boys body ached.

Alan stumbled forward, not quite hitting the ground before his brother pulled him up, "Hang in there Al," Scott pleaded, pulling his youngest brother into his arms, cradling him tightly to his chest, "Come on."

Virgil slowed as he reached the track his eyes widening as the flames from the bonnet made contact with the pool on the floor, "Scott, get down!" He yelled, praying his brother could hear him over the roar of the crowd.

Scott read the words on his middle brother's lips and threw himself, and his brother in his arms, to the ground. He held Alan tightly to his chest as the blast blew past them. Below him Alan groaned and cried out in pain, his breaths coming in short sharp gasps now.

Scott pulled back a little brushing his youngest brothers hair back off of his face, "It's alright, you're going to be fine Sprout,"

The boy gasped and shook his head, wanting to get the words out as his vision pooled. He needed to tell his brothers that he loved them, no matter how much they frustrated him, he still loved them. All he had wanted was to make them proud by being good at what he did, like the rest of them.

Scott forced a smile and held his brother's hand tightly, biting back his tears of fear, "It's okay, Sprout, just rest, it's okay,"

Alan tried to smile back to his brother, trying to assure him that he was okay. That everything would be fine. But the boy was exhausted, his injuries too much for him to stay awake. So, he did as his oldest brother said, and rested.

Evie reached them then, John close to her, "Alan!" He snapped at the unconscious blond.

Evie took control, her training kicking in as she checked over the boy. Scott looked to John, suddenly more grateful than ever that his brother had a girlfriend.


	10. Chapter 10

As another doctor passed by the room the Tracy's were waiting in, Gordon looked to John. Something had been niggling him since he had seen his older brother run onto the racetrack with the redhaired woman with the bright green coat, "How come you know the medic?"

Everyone looked up in surprise.

On one hand there was Virgil, Gordon, and Grandma, who had all heard John quite obviously call the redhaired medic Evie. None of them had ever met her before, leaving some unusual theories on how the astronaut knew _a_ girl. (Unless you asked Gordon, who was convinced she was an alien that John was covering for)

On the other hand, Kayo, Scott, and John all knew exactly who the medic was and couldn't be more grateful that the woman was in on their secret making their lives a fraction easier.

John knew he was caught, now was the time for the news to come out. Just another bombshell for the family to deal with. Not that they weren't used to them. For all the bombshells that blew into the family, they were as common as any other daily conversation for the Tracy's.

John looked up to meet his younger brothers' gaze, "She's my girlfriend,"

"I'm sorry, what?" Gordon's mouth dropped as Virgil's head whipped from John, to Scott, to Kayo and back again. What worried John the most though was the knowing smile that spread across his Grandma's face. Now _that_ was what meant trouble.

"Girlfriend?" Virgil choked out, "You live in _space_ and you are the first to have a bl-"

"Virgil!" Grandma cut him off with a glare, "Watch your language. And what's wrong with him being happy?"

John laughed to himself, not realising he had been so obvious about his feelings towards Evie. He glanced to his older brother who was also laughing quietly, even Kayo's worry was momentarily forgotten as they all pieced the information together.

"Well," The laughs were interrupted by a specific redhead, "I don't normally come into a relatives room to that sound,"

John was the first to smile to the woman, giving a nod in the general direction of his two immediate younger brothers, "They know,"

Evie smiled and glanced to the family, "Ah," She looked around the room, "Well, I just swung by to say that Alan's in a room now, he's got a few bumps and bruises and a bit of a concussion, but he should be awake soon,"

She frowned as the redhaired boy laughed, not understanding how a concussion could be funny. As John stood she smiled to him, glad she was delivering what seemed to be good news to the family. John wrapped his arm around her waist, "Gordon believes that anything less than a broken bone is just an excuse to slack off,"

One of the darker haired boys snorted, attracting Evie's attention, "Just because you almost killed yourself,"

Evie sucked in a breath, but it didn't seem like a sore subject. A glance up to her partner confirmed that she didn't have to worry about Gordon's mental state.

John felt the look from his girlfriend and looked down to met her confused gaze, with a smile he shook his head, "I'll explain later,"

She nodded and turned to the door, "Do you want to go and see him?"

Kayo jumped up quickly to follow her, as did the rest of the family. Before John could follow the crowd though, his older brother caught his arm, "How serious are you about her?"

John's eyes pulled away from his brothers, watching as Evie lead the rest of their family to their youngest brother. Before they rounded a corner, she glanced back and met his gaze, something in John's stomach flipped as a blush rose up her light cheeks. He could only imagine the feelings could link to one thing, in a way it felt so familiar yet so different at the same time. Whenever he was stargazing he felt the same stirring in his stomach, but never quite so strong as what he was feeling as he watched Evie blush a furious red.

So it wasn't really any surprise to him when he found the words slipping from his mouth, "As serious as anything,"

Scott smiled and nodded, he'd expected the response. The older brother recognised the way John watched Evie, how his eyes seemed to only focus on her when she was around and he couldn't help but smile when he talked about her. The same look Scott remembered his parents sharing so many times when he had been a young boy, his mother always standing on the veranda as she waved them off on their fishing trips. Scott remembered how she would always smile softly and watch the car until it was out of sight, her eyes zoned in particularly to the drivers seat. His parents had adored each other, he knew that was what had made his Mothers death so hard on them all. That was probably why John's gaze scared Scott slightly, for fear of another heart being broken. But even Scott couldn't deny that his brother was hopelessly in love, and the risk of tragedy was too small to deny the chance for the pair to be happy.

"Serious enough to invite her home?" Scott smirked as his brothers face lit up, he didn't doubt the rest of their family would agree to it. Perhaps Evie could turn out as an asset to the team in the future if she went ahead with this Space Medicine thing.

"Thank you, Scott," John murmured with a smile, "For everything,"

Scott snorted and rolled his eyes, "Big brothers prerogative," He reminded John as he stood straighter, "Come on, let's go and see how the Sprout is,"

As the two rounded the corner they had seen their family disappear around, they were pushed apart by a man in a black hooded top.

"Hey!" Scott exclaimed as the man sprinted away, but as he turned with a shake of his head, he was pushed back against the wall again. This time, by two recognisable brothers.

"Gordon, Virg!" Scott yelled after his brothers, not appreciating being pushed about, no matter what the urgency.

"Alan." John stated, realising what the problem must have been.

The eldest two boys shared a look before turning and sprinting the opposite way down the corridor, until the sound of their brothers voice reached their ears, "I'm fine, he didn't touch me!"

"Alan!" Scott sighed as he stepped into the room, "What happened?"

It was Grandma that replied, "We were just getting here and a man was leaving the room,"

The two oldest boys looked over their youngest brother in concern, he looked and seemed fine in himself at least.

"It's fine," Alan insisted, "Stop fussing,"

Kayo took his hand and squeezed it gently, "We just want to know what he wanted Alan," She pointed out, "If there was any malicious intent…" She trailed off and swallowed.

Knowing that Kayo was always best distracted by work Scott looked to her, "If Alan says he's fine, how about you go and sort a press release?" He suggested to her, "The race was a big event, I'm sure word will have gotten around by now,"

Kayo smiled and nodded, glancing to Alan, "Call me if there's anything,"

Alan smiled to her, knowing she meant well but still not wanting a fuss, "I will."

Grandma looked to the younger woman and then the three boys, "I'll come with you Kayo, John, Evie went to find Alan's doctor, apparently they're old friends. She said something about ER department and ask for the Neurosurgeon,"

John nodded, "I'll walk with you,"

As the three of them left, Scott sat down on Alan's bed, "You're sure you're feeling okay?"

Alan looked to the door, physically he felt fine with only a few cuts and bruises to show for his accident. Mentally though, he was extremely confused. He had lied to his family for the sake of not being fussed over as the youngest always was. It was nagging him though, he was sure of what he had heard just before he had opened his eyes, but he didn't want the rest of his family to think of him as mad.

He looked back to his older brother, a frown now on both of their faces, "I lied, Scott," He admitted quietly, "That guy, he was in here, right next to me,"

Scott must have head the confusion in Alan's voice as he took the younger brothers hands in his as he asked, "What did he do to you?"

Alan shook his head, "Nothing, he just brushed my hair back," He swallowed and looked up to meet his brothers eyes, "I thought I was dreaming Scott, it doesn't make any sense, I was sure…" He trailed off as he sniffed.

Seeing his brother cry made Scott even more worried, why would a complete stranger stroke his youngest brothers hair? And why would it make said younger brother cry? He moved up the bed and wrapped his arms around Alan, "It's okay Sprout, you're safe,"

In response, Alan sniffed and shook his head, "No Scott, I don't think I ever was in danger,"

Scott was beyond confused by his brothers comment, not sure why he was crying if he knew he hadn't been in any danger. He needed answers that only Alan could give him. He pulled back and held his brother's shoulders, "Talk to me Alan."

Alan sniffed and wiped his damp eyes, looking up to meet his brother's gaze as he whispered, "He was talking to me Scott, I'm sure I didn't imagine it. He was telling me that I was safe and that everything was going to be okay," The younger brother sniffed and wiped away his tears before they could fall, "Then he said, 'I love you, _son_.' Scott, I'm almost certain-"

Scott cut him off, not quite believing what he was hearing, "You think that it was Dad?"

Alan bit his lip, knowing he had to nod but not daring to. He couldn't help but fear the _what if's_ of the situation, what if he had been dreaming it, what if it wasn't their Dad, or possibly worst of all, what if it wasn't?

Scott hugged his youngest brother again when he nodded slightly, "I believe you Sprout. If you think it's Dad, then I'll believe you,"

Both knew that they couldn't tell the others, not yet, not until they had firm proof of what they believed. That slither of hope was enough for them. It was something to slot into the mystery of their father's disappearance and that was something at least.

As the other brothers neared the door, Scott pulled away from Alan, "We'll talk when they've gone, okay?"

Alan smiled and nodded, "Yeah, thanks,"

Scott smiled and shook his head in dismissal as the door opened, "Are you trying to give me gray hairs?"

It wasn't a surprise to Scott that he felt someone pulling at his scalp, it was even less of a surprise to find that that someone was Gordon, "Hey, look, there's a whole gray patch here!"

Scott swatted the redhaired pest away as Alan laughed and Virgil shook his head, "Don't worry Scott, he's only joking,"

Scott narrowed his eyes at his middle brother, "Yeah, I didn't doubt it," He shook his head as he looked around his three youngest brothers, all pests in their own way, but he had to love them all the same. After all, it was a big brother prerogative.


	11. Chapter 11

Wow, I'm on a roll this week! I hope the quality isn't suffering because I want to get them posted?

* * *

John smiled as he spotted Evie stood next to the coffee machine with another woman a few years older than them. He strode over to them and glanced between them as their conversation trailed off, "I'm not interrupting am I?"

Evie smiled widely to him, and John couldn't help but smile back. She looked to the doctor in the white coat, "Helen, this is John, Alan's brother,"

Helen smiled at John and held out her hand politely, "Nice to meet you, I trained with Evie for a few months,"

Evie rolled her eyes, "Yeah, and then the boring so-and-so went to specialise in neurosurgery, no sense of adventure,"

Helen raised an eyebrow and folded her arms, "Sure, because there's no adventure when working in the ER."

John smiled at the familiar back and forth banter, recognising the way his brothers interacted at home. He didn't doubt that Evie would fit right in if she agreed to his proposition. He took her hand, "Well, I'm sure there's good points for both," He looked to Helen, "Do you know when Alan will be allowed out?"

Helen smiled reassuringly and nodded, "Yes, I want to keep him in overnight for observation, but he should be allowed out in the morning,"

John relaxed and hugged Evie tightly, "That's great, thank you,"

Helen shook her head, "It's my job John, don't worry about it,"

Evie took John's hand and began to pull him away, "I'll catch up with you later."

Automatically, John followed Evie to Alan's room. He wanted to ask her to go home with them, Scot had given him the okay, he had no reason not to. It was finding the right words that was the problem, he didn't know where to start. He'd never really had a girlfriend (Unless you counted Amanda from first year of High School, but that was a two day fling) So, where did he even start with inviting her to stay?

Before they reached Alan's room, John pulled Evie into an alcove. She frowned at him in confusion, he wasn't the sort of man to suddenly grab and drag. What had changed in the last thirty seconds to do that?

"John?"

He took a breath and closed his eyes, uttering to himself, "God, I don't know where to start with this,"

When her soft, light fingers brushed his cheek, it was an automatic response for him to open his eyes, meeting her hazel ones. She smiled sweetly, encouragingly to him, "Just spit it out John," She insisted, "You're probably overthinking it,"

He took a breath and swallowed as he looked to their entwined hands, "I know this is the first time we've properly met," He told her, "But, we've been talking for months and I feel like I do really know you," He sighed and shook his head, "Why is this so hard?"

Evie smiled and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, "I love you John," She murmured, "And, whatever your question is, I'm sure that it's not as bad as you're making it out to be,"

She saw him relax beneath her touch, she brushed his blond hair back as he let out a long breath, "Now, what are you trying to ask?"

He looked down to her and smiled, he never knew he could be so nervous yet so excited at the same time. His stomach had butterflies but was doing flips at the same time, his heart was racing, "Would you like to come to the Island for a few days? Or longer?" He was quick to add, "You don't have to, it's just, well-"

The woman silenced him with a kiss on the lips, her hands trailing up the back of his neck, causing him to shiver slightly. Her heart was thudding as hard as Johns and he suddenly wasn't the only one who had butterflies doing flips in his stomach.

A childlike giggle escaped her lips as she pulled back from her boyfriend, "I couldn't think of anything better."

* * *

Scott smiled as Virgil and Gordon came back into the room, "Security are on to him," Virgil announced, "But we can go home tomorrow so I don't see the point in making a huge deal about it,"

Scott nodded in agreement, "You lot could go home tonight and I can fly Tracy three back?"

Virgil scoffed and folded his arms, "Sure, you're still under the effects of a concussion. Not happening."

Scott opened his mouth to argue but was interrupted by Grandma and Kayo returning, "That's the press sorted," Kayo smiled as she looked to Alan, "How are you feeling?"

Alan rolled his eyes, fed up of the repetitive questions, "I'm fine!" He then looked to his middle brother, "Are you sure you guys can't go home? You said Scott only had a _mild_ concussion,"

"It's still a concussion," Kayo pointed out, "He shouldn't be flying for at least a week,"

Alan groaned in complaint, as did Scott both in desperation for their family to be more flexible.

"What's up, Scott?" Gordon smiled, "Don't like smother brother in training?"

Scott opened his mouth to protest, he didn't smother, he just cared about them. With Dad supposedly gone, he didn't know what he would do if anything happened to his younger siblings. Just carrying on was hard enough in itself.

Before he could defend himself though, he was interrupted by the door opening and two more people squeezing into the already cramped room.

"You're not meant to fly with a concussion," Evie put in, "And something tells me that crashing one of those babies," She let out a long low whistle, "I don't think that would do much for the label,"

Gordon looked to John as Evie bit her lip, a blush rising up her cheeks. She was relieved to hear him laugh though, "I like her!"

Her heart flipped as John wrapped his arm around her waist, "Good, because you're going to be seeing a lot more of her,"

"John," Evie's head snapped around to the older woman in the room, "You've not introduced us properly,"

Evie shook her head, quick to get her boyfriend off the hook, "It's okay, you've all had a lot on your minds today," She glanced around the room, "Besides, I already know Alan, Scott, and Gordon," She looked to the second dark haired man, "So, you must be Virgil," She looked to the other two women, "Do they always argue?"

She had to smile as both women laughed and nodded, the younger one explained jokingly, "Yeah, they're not always the gentlemen you see on the rescues," She glanced to the men with a cheeky smirk, "Really, that's the only time they ever act like adults,"

Evie laughed, "Well, I'm sure I'll find out for myself," She looked to John, "Is it a long flight back?"

John shrugged, eyeing up his older brother as he said, "Well, Scott's not flying so-"

He stopped as Scott held up a finger in warning, "You be very careful Johnny, or I _will_ retract that invite,"

The younger man looked down to his girlfriend and shook his head, "About an hour, maybe forty-five minutes,"

Evie's response was interrupted by his youngest brothers comment, "She's coming home with us?"

It wasn't that Alan minded that his older brother was bringing a girl back to the island, he was pleased for them, but it all seemed a bit sudden. Three hours ago he didn't even know John had a girlfriend. Now she was coming back to the Island? It was obvious that she knew about International Rescue, but what did she know about the brothers?

"Yes, so behave for once in your life," John warned his brother with a smile.

Gordon jumped up, striding over to the other redhead in the room and draping an arm across her shoulders, "Well, Evelyn, if you're coming to stay with us, there's a few things you should know,"

He smirked as she raised an eyebrow. Gordon had to fight a laugh, she was truly clueless as to how manic their lives were. This was going to be an entertaining few days, all the tricks he could get up to on his new victim. Oh yes, this was going to be entertaining.

"Yeah," John interrupted his brothers thoughts, "Firstly, if Gordon ever says 'Let's have some fun', run."

Scott laughed and leant back on Alan's bed folding his arms as he nodded in agreement, "Yeah, run to the other side of the island."

"Two," Alan leant forward around Scott, "If the klaxon goes off and you're in the pool, get _out_ of the pool,"

"Fast," Gordon added.

Evie nodded, taking in the information whilst trying not to smile at the brothers.

Virgil joined in the list of warnings, "Three, there is no normal sleep pattern for us,"

Scott nodded, offering an explanation, "Yeah, so if we don't reply when you're talking to us, don't worry, it's normal,"

Gordon cast a wary glance towards his Grandma before whispering, "Four, Grandma can't cook, so stock up on snacks and stuff while you still can,"

The older woman glared at the man but said nothing as she folded her arms, "I can cook soup and apple pie,"

"And five," John smiled as he wrapped an arm around Evie's waist, "Once you arrive on that Island, you will never know normal again,"

Evie laughed and looked around the brothers, "Right, so, keep clear of the pool, be prepared to be ignored, avoid the evil redhead, and cook for myself,"

All the boys looked up at her announcement, it was Gordon who asked, "You can cook?"

Evie smiled as if it should be obvious, "Well, I've been looking after myself for the last ten years… So, yeah, I can cook,"

There was a round of cheering from the boys as John laughed, "You know you're never going to leave now?"

The woman grinned as she turned to face him, tiptoeing to kiss his cheek, "Well, that's not a problem for me."


	12. Chapter 12

Evie's eyes widened as the private jet circled the lush, green island. She couldn't help but breath a slight gasp at the beauty of the place. On the horizon the sun was setting, giving the island a golden glow, glinting off of the glass walls of the house built into the cliffside.

So many paces to explore, she couldn't wait to get out and explore the greens of the forest, or the rocky outcrops along the beach. Put simply, the place was a paradise.

John smiled and rested his chin on Evie's shoulder, watching her eyes widen in awe, "What do you think?"

Evie turned to face him, a grin spreading across her face, "It's beautiful,"

John sighed contently and wrapped his arms around her waist, he couldn't wait to share his favourite parts of the island with her. Sure, Alan appreciated stargazing like John did, but the younger boy didn't have the patience anymore to sit and watch the stars. Alan wanted to be on the go. Evie though, John knew she would sit forever just watching the stars.

Kayo and Virgil landed the plane with a slight bump, giving Scott another thing to grumble about, not that anyone paid any mind to him. They pulled up in the hangar and were quick to finish the post flight checks and join their family at the steps of the jet. John had already introduced Brains to Evie and explained the story.

"M-m-max made dinner," Brains told the group, receiving a his off 'Yes' in response.

Kayo glanced to John, stood on the other side of Evie to his brothers. She was starting to pick up on the familiar signs that he was ready to head back up to 'Five, standing away from his family, quieter than usual, and his eyes were flitting around, trying to watch as many things at once as possible.

"We'll save you guys some," Kayo offered the couple, "If you want the grand tour first,"

She smiled as John glanced down to Evie and asked her if she minded, another sign that he was ready for his tin can. Evie shook her head in response, "I'm not really hungry yet, we can eat later."

Alan frowned at Kayo as the couple left, "What was all that about?"

Kayo smiled and shook her head, would the younger brothers ever recognise the signs that John gave out so obviously to her?

Scott caught Kayo's eye and nodded, quietly stating, "He's ready to go back,"

Kayo shrugged, "I recon Evie will give us a couple of days,"

Gordon and Alan shared confused looks while Virgil just nodded in agreement, "Give the man his tin can any day,"

Grandma smiled fondly, "Well, as long as he's happy I don't mind, now, let's see how Max has done with dinner,"

Unsurprisingly, the four boys were the first to sprint up to the elevators, leaving the others to make their own way up.

* * *

John leant on the railing of his seldom used balcony next to Evie, the warm breeze ruffling his hair, carrying the shouts of laughter from the deck above the pool where his brothers were eating. He smiled as Evie rested her head on his shoulder, "It's beautiful,"

John chuckled quietly, "It can be quiet too," He told her, glancing in the general direction of his brothers, "Once they've all gone to bed," He looked to his loosely clasped hands in front of him and sighed, "I prefer it then, all you can hear is the waves and the breeze,"

"That sounds wonderful," Evie whispered, her head tilted up to stare up at the stars, "And all the stars you can see,"

John smiled and followed her gaze, "I know where there's a better view," He commented, making Evie laugh and raise an eyebrow, "There's more?"

John shrugged, "We have a whole Island, there's always going to be something else," He took her hand, eager to share his favourite part of the house with her, "Come on, I'll show you."

Once they stepped out of the elevator, into a corridor, John covered Evie's eyes, "No peaking," He murmured as he led her to the door and opened it. Evie couldn't help but giggle at what they were doing, excitement building in her stomach as she heard the swish of the door pulling back to reveal a room. She took another few steps forward under John's careful guidance before he pulled his hands away from her eyes and she gasped in amazement at the glass room; lit only by a dim light by the sofa so the twinkling stars weren't drowned out.

John had spent so much of his time on the island up there, gazing up at the stars, thinking of his mother.

"It's beautiful," Evie murmured as she went over to the overly wide window seat. His dad had designed it like that, knowing that his second son would, more often than not, end up falling asleep there.

John smiled as the woman stared up to the dark sky. He reached out automatically to where he knew the blanket was draped over the leather of the sofa. Taking it with him, he sat close to Evie and pulled the blanket around them both as they leant against each other and the wall.

Evie gazed at the stars in wonder, the man sat beside her lived up there, looking down to earth. She wondered what it was like, the world must seem so small when he was so far away.

"What's it like up there?"

John smiled and shook his head, you couldn't compare the view up there to the one down on earth. They were both beautiful in their own ways. He knew which view he would pick though- the peace and quiet of his ship in orbit over the ruckus of his brothers in the main lounge.

He looked down to her and smiled softly, "I'll take you up one day, if you like?"

Evie smiled widely, space had always fascinated her, but she had never had the interest in becoming a fully fledged astronaut, not until she had met John that was. That was why she had taken the offer of the medical training at NASA, the six month intensive course would teach her everything she needed to know about living in space and what to expect from a flight up there. She wasn't interested in flying the shuttles though, Evie would stick to her niche and let the professionals do what they were trained for.

"I'd love that," She murmured to him, "You must get lonely?"

John ran his fingers through her long, red hair, admiring how much it looked like his younger brothers. At times he did wish he had some company, other than that of his brothers. He did love them, but when they were the only people he ever talked to, it was easy to get fed up of their antics.

He looked down to the woman leaning against him, his stomach twisting at the thought of how much she cared. John had never expected the dating site to work, sceptical that algorithms could work to find 'a perfect match', but from the look of the woman sat with him now, he knew he had been proved wrong. It was possibly the first time in his life that he was willing to accept that he was wrong, because the outcome felt just, simply, right.

Evie looked up to him, still waiting for a response, her heart fluttered when she realised he was busy watching her. Nobody had ever looked at her like he did before, not one of the men she had dated had given her that look of adoration. Then again, she was sure that none of those men had given her butterflies in her stomach either.

John smiled as he watched her brown eyes flit from place to place, wishing he could work out what was going through her head.

As if the two could read each others mind though, he leant down as she leant up. Their lips caught in a chaste kiss, neither daring to go any further when one of his brothers could come in at any moment.

The pair pulled apart and both grinned naughtily, excited but also nervous at the prospect of things moving along as they were; It had been a year since they had started talking online, but it was only little more than a week since they had first met.

"I love you Evie," John whispered as she settled back into his arms, she looked up to him and smiled sweetly, "I love you too, John."

As the two settled back, John reached up to touch the glass, the warmth of his fingers activating the programme that would zoom in on whichever part of space they were currently looking up to. It only took him a few moments to find his 'Bird in amongst the stars, "That's Five," He told Evie, "My home from home,"

"I bet it's quiet up there," She murmured with a soft smile.

John nodded and was about to reply when a red light flashed in the corner of the room. He sighed and pulled away from Evie as she sat up, "What's-"

"Emergency," He held a hand out to her, "Would you like to watch?"

Evie's stomach flipped, "I'll try to stay out of the way,"

John laughed and leant down to kiss her cheek before pulling her back to the lounge.

* * *

Scott smiled as John and Evie ran into the lounge, "Nice of you to join us,"

John ignored his brother and looked to his Grandma, "What have we got?"

"Industrial fire," Grandma told the boys, "Local services can't dowse it enough and it's going to spread to a nearby woods if something doesn't happen soon,"

"Is anybody trapped?" Virgil asked as he headed towards his launch.

Grandma shook her head, "They've not confirmed yet,"

"We'll take Firefly," Alan stated, taking a step towards his brothers, only to be stopped by his oldest brother.

Scott shook his head, it was only a few hours ago that he'd been pulling Alan from his wrecked car, "You're staying here,"

"Should you even be flying?" Alan protested, folding his arms.

Scott shook his head, that wasn't the point of the argument, "I hit my head two days ago, you hit your head a matter of hours ago,"

"But-"

Scott looked up as Kayo interrupted, "I'll go with Scott Alan, don't worry,"

Scott and Alan frowned, both for entirely different reasons. Scott didn't need a babysitter, while Alan didn't like the fact that his girlfriend was seeing more action than him, "Sure, you get to have more fun than me."

Evie looked up to John, "Are you going?"

John nodded and smiled softly to her, "Don't worry, we'll be back before we know it," He glanced to his waiting brothers, "I'll be careful,"

Evie smiled back and looked to where Alan was sulking on the couch, "I'll see if I can bring Alan around,"

John glanced to Alan and smiled, "That would be hugely appreciated,"

The pair laughed and separated as Scott announced, "Thunderbirds are go."

Evie took in a breath as there was a rumbling beneath them, she looked past the desk that Grandma was sat at to see the pool retracting. It was suddenly obvious why the boys had warned her to get out of the pool if she ever heard the klakson.

"International Rescue are on their way," Grandma announced to whoever had been calling for help. Evie watched as the silver rocket sped off into the distance, the second, green, ship not far behind.

Evie took a seat next to Alan, watching the hologram that was tracking the two ships that had just left the island. She glanced across to the younger boy, still sulking, but watching the hologram with an intense interest.

"You love being out there, huh?" She guessed as her eyes drifted to the portraits on the wall, the five Tracy's all in their flight suits, clean and fresh unlike what they were normally seen as on TV in the midsts of a mission.

"They baby me so much," Alan muttered, "I could have at least sat in,"

Evie smiled, the youngest Tracy could be such a child at times. She was sure that, to his brothers, he would always be a baby that needed smothering. She knew better than to make a comment though, instead changing the subject, "So what happens now?"

Alan looked over to her, realising that she'd never seen a mission from this angle before. Suddenly, being left at home wasn't all so bad. His job was possibly the most important, keeping the newbie in the loop. He grinned at the thought that he was no longer the newbie of International Rescue.

"Scott and Kayo will get there first," He explained, "They'll assess what's happening and make a plan for when the others arrive with 'Two,"

He sat up and pressed his communicator on his wrist, "What's your ETA guys?"

"Ten minutes," Kayo replied, "Don't tell me you're bored already?"

Alan rolled his eyes and looked to Evie, "Nope, just keeping the newbie in the loop,"

Both heard Scott's quiet laugh, "You mean he's not sulking?"

"I'm not a kid, Scott!" Alan exclaimed, "Only kids sulk,"

He frowned as Evie laughed and folded her arms, "Come on, Alan, you were sulking,"

Alan opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by his oldest brother cursing quietly, "Guys, things are about to get complicated."


	13. Chapter 13

Kayo looked across to Scott, "What is it?"

He double checked the map and the coordinates, a glance out of the window to the burning site told him all he needed to know. He'd flown this route often enough to recognise the landscape beneath him, but for once, that wasn't good news.

He opened up the comms to everyone, "That's my old air base guys, if I go in then they'll know,"

The eldest brother expected a laugh and an 'I told you so' off of Alan, but the youngest stayed quiet. Scott glanced down to the danger zone and shook his head, "Not only is it getting close to the woods, but to the fuel cells too,"

Kayo was also watching the scene, "I'll go down and assess from the ground, Scott can assess from above,"

She caught Scott nod in the corner of her eye, as Virgil replied, "F-A-B Thunderbird One."

Once had had dropped Kayo Off, Scott lifted the rocket back into the smoky sky above the airbase. He circled around in a wide arc, watching the place he had started his career crumble below him. He recognised the third hangar, his designated hangar for their engineering classes. The ex-pilot couldn't help but smile fondly at the memories from that hangar. It wasn't just his own memories that got to him though, his father had done training at that same base. The thought of not being able to salvage it was just another loss for the Tracy family. Something more they had lost.

Kayo ran over to the man that looked like he was in charge, it made most sense as he seemed to be shouting orders at everyone else. He paused and looked to her, "International Rescue?"

Kayo nodded, "We've got our equipment arriving in any minute," She told him, "What's the situation?"

The man pointed out to where the fire was raging, "It seems to have started in the hangars, it's spread to the other hangars and won't be far off reaching the woods at the back,"

Kayo nodded, remembering from the flight in how close to the perimeter fence both the hangars and the wood, "If you can spare some of your engines to dowse the woods, when my team gets here they can work on the hangars from this side,"

The man nodded but then gestured to where the air force fire engines were already working, "We're also worried about the fuel cells for the jets, if the fire meets them, the explosion will wipe out the entire base,"

Kayo swallowed and nodded, she could hear 'Two arriving nearby, "Hopefully it won't come to that."

Virgil was quick to drop the pod and shut down the systems, "Let's go," He announced, jogging with his two brothers down to the pod where Firefly was waiting. Kayo had explained the situation over the comms and the three men already knew where they were needed.

"How are things looking 'One?" Virgil asked as they unloaded.

Scott was prompt to reply, "The dowsing on the woods seems to be helping, but it's creeping closer to the cells,"

"Well, we're here now," Gordon pointed out, somewhat unhelpfully, "It's going to be fine,"

Virgil glanced up to where he could see the orange glow reflecting of the silver of his brothers rocket as Scott sighed over the comms, "I hope so."

* * *

Back at Tracy Island, Evie was sat forward in her seat, rubbing a mug of coffee between her hands. She was surprised such good coffee could come from a robot. When Brains had joined them in the sunken lounge, MAX the robot had come and offered coffee around. The three adults that were awake had gladly accepted, while Alan had just snored heavily in his seat.

"The first one is the hardest," Grandma told the younger woman, "But they know what they're doing, you don't need to worry."

Evie smiled to the boys' Grandmother knowing that, despite her wise words, she probably still worried every time the Thunderbirds were called out. Maybe it did get easier to cope with the feeling of worry that constantly nagged at the back of her head, but that didn't mean that it would go away.

"I think we will always fret," Evie sighed as she looked back to the creamy brown liquid, "It's human nature isn't it?"

Grandma nodded, "Yes, I suppose it is," She smiled to Evie and shook her head slightly, "The number of heart attacks those boys have given me over the years, I'm surprised I'm still here."

Evie laughed, "I'm sure they-"

She was cut off by Scott, "Guys, I'm picking up an abnormal heat signature from inside the third hangar," Evie sat up, paying more attention to the holograms again as Scott continued, "It's not to do with the fire. Guys, I think someone's in there."

* * *

Kayo looked to the Commander she had been working with, "Is everyone accounted for?"

The man shook his head, "It's the start of Squad six's leave period, we don't know who's here and who isn't,"

Kayo pursed her lips, surprised the commander hadn't heard Scott despite the roar of the fire. The oldest brother was not happy that some sort of headcount hadn't taken place. He uttered something about back in his day, making Kayo smile slightly at how much he sounded like Jeff.

"Right," Kayo snapped, "Get a headcount organised, I'm not risking my coworkers if there's nobody in there,"

The commander was quick to nod and delegate the task to someone else while Kayo checked in with the others, "How's it going guys?"

Virgil sighed and wiped his brow as he shifted a lump of metal out of the way of Fireflash, "Not bad," He sighed, "We've got access to most of this side, there's just a few areas that we can't get to yet,"

Kayo glanced in their general direction, "Is there anything you need?"

"We're good," Gordon replied, "Between Virg and the shield, we're managing,"

Kayo nodded, "Great, just be ready to have to go in if needs be," She glanced over her shoulder as the commander returned.

"F-A-B," The three responded.

"Everyone's accounted for, other than Jennifer Lakeland," He hesitated, "Some of the boys reported seeing her head into the hangars earlier,"

Kayo opened her comms, "Did you hear that guys?"

"Kayo, I'm coming down," Scott told her, leaving no room for an argument, "Tell Virgil to meet me in the Mole."

"F-A-B, Thunderbird one," Kayo sighed and relayed the message.

* * *

Virgil slid into the second seat in the Mole and looked to his older brother, "What's got to you?" He asked as Scott started the system checks before they rolled out of the pod. Scott had been snappy since he had landed 'One, Virgil could only think of one thing that had changed. Scott didn't reply to him though, instead keeping on with their plotted course. That was all it took to confirm to Virgil what he suspected, "On basic training with you?" He guessed, to get no response.

"Bunking with you?"

Still no response.

"Squadron?"

"Leave it Virgil."

Squadron it was then, Virgil nodded to himself, "Are you sure this is a good idea?" He asked as they poised the Mole to burrow down into the ground, a course set to come up inside the hangar where the head signature was showing.

"This is the Mole, we're in position to start digging," Scott announced to the others.

"F-A-B." Kayo responded, "Be careful."

Virgil watched his brother as they began to descend into the ground, "Scott, come on, talk to me,"

Scott sighed in defeat and sat back in his seat, Virgil wasn't going to give up until Scott gave him something to go off, "She's a good person, always more bothered about other people than herself. She was as hard as nails though," He shook his head, "She really had to fight for her family's approval in everything, this will just give them ammo to get her out of here,"

Virgil nodded, not saying anything out loud to his older brother. Scott eyes him wearily, not sure if he'd be getting a lecture later or not. He smiled to himself and shook his head slightly- since when did the oldest get lectured by his younger brother?

Virgil checked the temperature gauge, "How far under the fire are we now? It's getting pretty toasty in here,"

Brains' stutter was quick to respond, "T-the Mole wasn't designed for working around fire, when you get into the hangar you will have to work quickly and get back out,"

"F-A-B, Brains," Virgil confirmed as he shared a glance with Scott, "We're heading up to the surface now,"

Scott looked to his younger brother, hating himself but knowing that he couldn't risk being recognised unless he wanted to blow the whole operation, "Do you want to go and suit up?"

He sighed as Virgil nodded and went to get up and looked back to his controls, frowning as everything suddenly cut out.

* * *

Kayo frowned as her comms flicked off and didn't turn back on. She jogged over to where John and Gordon were still working with the Firefly, both were also looking to their watches in confusion.

"What happened?" She asked them, "There's nothing here that should interfere with them,"

John shook his head, "I don't know, it's like something switched the system off,"

Both looked to where the Mole had sunk into the ground and tried the comms again, "Mole, come in?"

Nothing.

* * *

Alan yawned and stretched as he sat up on the sofa, revived after his little catnap. He looked up to the hologram, inspecting the data readouts that the others were watching quietly, "Did I miss anything?"

Evie smiled to him and held up an empty mug, the lingering rich scent lingering in the air, "Only coffee," She told him as he looked back to the readouts and frowned. They were gone.

"What happened?" Grandma asked, looking to Brains, "Where'd they go?"

What worried Alan was that Brains shook his head, "I don't know… n-nn-nothing in the danger zone should have knocked it out,"

As Alan stood up and stepped over to the unit to try the comms channel, a voice crackled to life. The youngest Tracy stumbled back as his Grandmother stood with Brains to back him up.

"Hello, International Rescue," The voice was slow, and familiarly mocking to the family, "It's such a shame that you didn't take my warning last time we met. Had you forgotten that I know who you are now? I wonder what you would do if that information were to leak to the world press?" The voice tutted slowly, "Daddy wouldn't be impressed now, would he?"

Alan looked to his Grandmother in fear and worry, not daring to say anything incase the voice heard them. He was glad that she realised what was wrong though and both were quick to wrap an arm around the others shoulder. Neither were sure what they would do if the same situation happened again and the entire family was put at risk.

"I'll keep coming for you boys," The voice continued in an almost lazy tone, "I've already got to two of you, it won't take me long to get under the rest of your skins," He sighed, "And, well, if that fails, there's always other ways. I'd tell you to ask your father, but he's not available right now, is he? Perhaps Tanusha could fill you in?"

Alan frowned and looked to the portrait of his girlfriend on the wall alongside his brothers. Not understanding where she linked into things at all. Next to him though, Grandma had gone very tense. Maybe there was something going on that Alan didn't know about, it wasn't like his family to keep secrets though, especially not after the first time.

The comms cut out again and Ala reached forward, "Guys, are you there?"

"We're here," John replied, "Mole? Do you copy?"

"Yeah, we weren't the only ones to hear that, right?" Scott asked, his voice worried.

A new voice joined the mix, one far away from any danger zone or Tracy Island, "Boys? What on earth was all that about?"

Alan raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Lady Penelope, you heard that too?"

"It seems that all International Rescue Agents got the message," Lady Penelope confirmed, "Shall I pay a visit boys, and we can discuss it properly?"

Scott was the one to confirm, "Sounds like a plan, Lady P, we'll finish up here and meet you back at base. Could you send out a message to the other agents to tell them that we will inform them of the situation ASAP?"

"F-A-B Scott."

Alan looked over his shoulder as he heard movement behind him and suddenly remembered that Evie had no idea what had just happened. He looked to the robot and sighed, "Max, I think we're going to need more coffee."

* * *

Scott sighed again as he waited for Virgil to return with the woman they had found in the hangar. He wasn't happy, and the message from the Hood had only made things worse. It had been like their arch enemy had shut down all of International Rescue's systems. _Meaning that he must have the input codes to control the systems._ He thought to himself, trying not to groan in frustration, _How could we be so foolish as to think that he wouldn't come looking for revenge when he got out of prison?_

There were too many questions in Scott's head for him to think about though. He needed to focus on what was going on around him for now, questions could wait until they got home.

"Right," Virgil announced, "Let's get out of here."

"F-A-B," Scott sighed, "How is she?"

Virgil didn't respond straight away, concerning Scott slightly, "She found an O two mask so that's probably saved her life, I think some smoke inhalation too, but she should be fine,"

Scott smiled slightly, _Finally, some good news._ He reached forward to the comms, "This is the Mole, we have our victim and our on our way back,"

"F-A-B, I'll have a medic waiting," Kayo responded quietly, "The fire is under control so we can head home once you're happy with everything,"

Scott glanced over his shoulder to where Virgil was treating the woman they had rescued, "I'll check things over when we get back," He added quietly, "I think we need a few words when we get home."

Kayo didn't respond to the oldest brother, instead looking to John in concern. She recognised his smile as forced as he squeezed her shoulder and murmured, "They've got to know."

That was exactly what she was worried about.


	14. Chapter 14

Evie sighed in relief as John reentered the lounge, still in his flight suit and covered in dirt and grime. Before she could get up to hug him though, Grandma was ordering them away, "You boys had better be planning on getting washed before you come anywhere near this lounge!"

John smiled to Evie and rolled his eyes, heading straight through to where the bedrooms were so he could change.

"Lady P is here," Alan announced, "It's going to be a long night," He sighed, glad he had got a nap in earlier. None of them would sleep until they had analysed every bit of the Hoods message, not only for the sake of International Rescue, but for their own piece of mind.

He stood up and walked over to the windows, looking out carefully to the darkness of the ocean, wishing he could see what was out there.

He looked up when he felt someones arm wrap around his shoulders, "It'll be alright Sprout, he's not going to come back here,"

Alan sighed and nodded, he couldn't help but feel a little responsible for this. He was the one who had let the Hood live.

Scott must have picked up on what he was thinking, "Don't, Alan, you did the right thing, it's not your fault."

Kayo sighed as she stepped into the lounge, tying her wet hair back in a bun at the nape of her neck. John was right, the others needed to know, and they had to know from her before they pieced it together themselves. Grandma gave her a slight nod as she hesitated on the edge of the sunken lounge.

"Right," Lady Penelope announced her arrival, "What on earth is going on with that vile little man?"

Kayo swallowed as the others came to take a seat in the lounge, still standing above them. Alan patted the seat next to him, "You coming to sit down Kayo?"

Her words slipped out of her mouth before she had chance to think about them, "There's something I have to tell you," She looked down to her feet and shook her head, "I should have told you all a long time ago," A thin, delicate hand rested lightly on her shoulder, making Kayo look up and smile softly to Grandma in thanks for her support. She looked across to Alan's torn face, a cross between worry and concern, and her heart shattered. Kayo wasn't sure what she would do if he pushed her away now, though she wouldn't blame him if he did.

"The Hood," She whispered, closing her eyes, "Is my father's brother."

Everyone's face blanched at the revelation. Scott noticed that John didn't seem to react to the news though, and he could assume from Grandma's hand on Kayo's shoulder, that she also already knew.

"You're the Hood's niece?" Alan frowned, trying to understand why he was only just finding this out. His confusion quickly turned to anger though, "You're the Hood's niece and you never thought to tell us!?" He yelled, jumping up from his seat, "Why-"

"Alan," Scott cut him off, making Alan even more angry. He was an adult now, and Kayo was his girlfriend. Even if his brothers didn't know, Alan was sure he had a right to be informed.

His face turned red as Kayo explained quietly, "Your father knew, I asked him to not say anything because I was frightened of what you would all think of me," Alan met her eyes for a second but was quick to pull them away, remembering what happened when you looked the Hood in the eye.

"We wouldn't have thought any differently of you Kayo," Virgil commented quietly with a glance to his youngest brother, wondering if his words would get through to Alan at the same time, "Your family doesn't define who you are," He smiled as he looked around his brothers, thinking how lucky they had been to have a strong and supportive family. Kayo couldn't help that her Uncle wanted to destroy International rescue, and she had proven herself to them so many times that she was on their side. He still trusted her with his life, it didn't matter who her Uncle was.

Scott nodded in agreement with his middle brother, "Kayo, we've all known you for as long as we can remember," He sighed and glanced to Alan, "Yes, I'm upset that you thought you couldn't tell us, but you've never done anything to make us think that we can't trust you. If father trusted you in the team, then we do too."

Everyone except Alan nodded in agreement with Scott, "Now, come and sit down so we can discuss this message."

Lady Penelope looked to Scott, "How exactly did he get into the system? He shut down everything before the message came through,"

Virgil nodded, "It was like he shut the Mole down too, but to do that he'd need access codes,"

Scott sighed and sat forward in his seat, all the questions in his head bubbling to the surface again, "Brains, how many access codes would he need to get into all the systems like that?"

His worry was confirmed when Brains stuttered, "J-jj-just, one."

The eldest son closed his eyes and let out a long breath, not wanting to confirm what he had heard. The twisting of his gut wasn't made any better when his Grandma confirmed, "Jeff had one access code to get into anything, like a master key,"

It was Evie that murmured, "Get the master key, and you have the systems."

Gordon shrugged, not seeing why there was a problem, "So, we just change the master code, the Hood can't get in, our systems are safe,"

His plan was shot down by Brains, "To change any c-cc-code, you need the master code,"

Gordon's shoulders sunk, "And we don't know it."

Scott shook his head, "No."

Gordon sat back in his chair and looked to Alan, still quietly angry with Kayo that was sat across the circle from him.

"What are we going to do about telling the world press?" Lady Penelope interrupted, "We don't know if or when he will. Surely we need some plan for if it happens?"

"S'cuse me m'lady," Parker interjected, knowing just what he had to inform everyone of in such an event, "Mister Tracy told me once that if there was ever such a situation, he had a deposit box back in London detailing an emergency protocol,"

Grandma nodded to Parker, "Yes, Parker, he told me about it too, something about Tracy enterprises funding IR, but not being directly involved,"

Gordon frowned at Parker, "So why does nosey get to know?"

"Gordon," Scott warned, not in the mood for his brother's cheek.

Parker shook his head, he wasn't sure why Mr Tracy had sent him the letter detailing what should be done in such a situation, but he had never questioned it, "T'is alright, Master Tracy, I also asked myself that sometimes."

"Maybe so that it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands?" Evie suggested quietly from her seat and then bit her lip as everyone turned to her, "Sorry, I watched too many cop dramas when I was younger,"

The blonde woman everyone had been addressing as Lady Penelope shook her head, "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met?"

John was quick to introduce them, "Sorry, Lady Penelope, this is my girlfriend, Evie. Evie, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, she works for us in England,"

Evie smiled politely to the Lady, "Nice to meet you,"

"And yourself," Lady Penelope smiled back, "Anyway?"

Evie nodded quickly and explained, "Well, it would be obvious for your father to tell you about such protocols and that would risk the Hood finding out that they existed. By only telling Mister Parker about the Protocols, it's less likely that the Hood will find them out."

Parker smiled at the use of a Mister in front of his name, "I like this young lady very much," He announced making the other laugh a little. He nodded in agreement with her idea, "H'it makes enough sense, M'lady,"

Lady Penelope nodded, "Yes, it does, I shall look into it as soon as we get back to England,"

Scott nodded his thanks, "We'll see what we can do about these access codes, maybe there's some sort of loophole."

"What about the getting under our skins?" Kayo murmured, her stomach churning, she was sure she knew what he had meant by that but was frightened to even consider it. She would much rather hear the others' thoughts before admitting to her own conclusions.

Virgil had also picked up on it though and linked it to the same things as Kayo, "Alan's crash, Scott's old air base," He looked around the room, "Where next?"

Kayo nodded, swallowing hard as she looked to the three boys that were, as of yet, unaffected, "We'll have to be ready."

Scott was listening quietly, running through details in his head, remembering what had happened last time. He couldn't risk it again, not when they'd already lost their father. It was Scott's responsibility to keep his brothers safe, to stop them from getting hurt, even if it meant upsetting them himself.

"John's not going back up to 'Five," Scott cut into the discussion of where the Hoods next target may be, "Not until we're sure that _he_ can't get control of the systems,"

Scott was slightly surprised that John didn't argue, "Okay," Was the only response he got from his first brother.

"I'm sorry," Scott sighed with a shake of his head, "I just can't risk it,"

John nodded with a small smile, telling Scott all he needed to know- John wasn't so sure about going up there anyway with all this happening.

Evie's eyes were darting between the family, her mouth kept opening ever so slightly, as if she wanted to say something but wasn't sure how to start. Scott gave her the prompt she needed, "Evie?"

Her head snapped to him and she bit her lip lightly, "Sorry," She shook her head, "It's nothing,"

John had also noticed her fidgeting and encouraged, "If you've got something to say, you're welcome to share it," He told her with a slight smile, "You've already explained to us why our own Dad didn't tell us about that emergency protocol,"

Evie blushed and leant forward, "I know I've only been here five minutes, and Alan filled me in on a lot while you were out," She took a breath as John squeezed her hand in reassurance, "If this psycho is out for revenge though, I don't think he's bothered about who gets hurt, or how badly,"

She paused as Kayo snorted, "That sounds like the Hood, alright,"

"What would you do if one of you was seriously hurt?" She hesitantly looked to Alan, "I think you were lucky today, Alan wasn't badly hurt and he wasn't in uniform, but what if the exact opposite happened?"

Virgil nodded, looking to Scott, "She has a point, I've only got basic EMT training," He let his point hang in the air as Scott looked up to Evie. Virgil was thinking of the doctor that had treated Alan earlier, remembering the long list of things she had training in, mastering everything she tried.

He obviously wasn't the only one thinking of her, "What was your thinking?" Scott asked.

Evie took a breath and glanced to John, "I'm not saying you have to, the last thing I want to do is barge in and make it look like I want to take over," She swallowed and smiled a little, "I just want to help if something does go horribly wrong," When Scott nodded his approval she continued, "My friend, that treated Alan today, she's made a name for herself in that hospital, if she says something, it goes. I trust her with my life, and I trust that if you needed someone to do what she can…" Evie trailed off with a shrug, not sure how to end her point.

Grandma nodded, looking pointedly at Scott, "She has a point, Kid, we've been lucky up until now. Besides, it's only forty-five minutes there in Tracy one, it would take no time in one of the machines,"

"Twenty minutes, max, in Two," Virgil agreed, "And if she knew we wouldn't have the problem of being in flight suits,"

Penelope added, "I could draw up some sort of contract, similar to the one the other agents have,"

Evie nodded, being sure to point out, "She could get a team together that she trusts, but if she tells them to keep quiet, they won't say a word,"

John smiled and lifted an arm around her shoulders, "I think what you're trying to say is, she says jump, they ask how high?"

Evie nodded, "Exactly."

Scott leant back in his seat, knowing that even if he wanted to say no, he was outvoted by everyone else, "Okay, I'm sure we can work something out with her,"

Evie smiled and nodded to him, "I'm sure she won't let you down,"

"We can talk details in the morning," Grandma stopped Scott before he turned to business, "You all need to rest now, you've done your jobs, the rest can wait until morning,"

Gordon grinned as he got up, "I'll make waffles for whoever cleans the Mole for me!"

Evie laughed as she got up with John, "I'll make waffles for everyone anyway,"

"I vote Evie!" Virgil laughed as Gordon frowned.

John smiled and shook his head, "Ahh, but how do we know Evie's waffles are better?"

There was a dramatic 'oooo' from everyone before Gordon announced, "Waffle duel!"

Scott shook his head, "If Gordon wins, we all clean the Mole, if Evie wins, Gordon does it on his own,"

"Shake on it?" Evie grinned as she held a hand out to Gordon, the other redhead laughed and took the hand she offered, "I hope you brought some rubber gloves."


	15. Chapter 15

Kayo sighed the next afternoon as Alan got up from the pool lounger he had been relaxing on as soon as she had appeared in the doorway. He'd been avoiding her all day, not even giving her chance to explain herself to him. She threw down her towel and stormed back inside, heading down to the gym to his something that wouldn't break.

When she got there, she was surprised to find Scott, already taking his own frustrations out on the punchbag. He stopped when he noticed her stood in the doorway and offered a small smile, "I meant to thank you last night," He told her, "For stepping up like you did," He sighed and looked back to the bag, "I didn't react as well as I should have,"

Kayo shrugged and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge they kept down there, "I think you had your reasons," She threw the water to Scott, "I probably would have done the same, given the circumstance."

Scott smiled and shook his head, "Alan's still not talking to you, is he?"

Kayo sighed and sat down on the bench, shaking her head sadly. Really, she couldn't blame Alan, she should have told him the information a long time ago. If the situations were reversed, she would want to know the truth. He was right, he _did_ have a right to know, she was meant to be his girlfriend after all.

"I deserve it," She sighed, resting her head in her hands, "I should have just told you all from the off,"

Scott threw the water over his shoulder and into the bin as he went to sit next to her, "Like I said last night, yes, I'm upset that you didn't feel you could share that with us, but that was a choice you made, who are we to judge that?"

Kayo sighed and shook her head, "He won't even sit in the same room as me," With a groan she hid her face in her hands, "Just when we'd got back on track,"

Scott smiled and rubbed her shoulder, knowing his brother would come around in time. Alan just needed the sense talking into him, "I'll talk to him," Scott told her, "Try and talk him around, I can't promise anything though,"

"Thank you,"

Scott stood up, "Now, in the meantime, how about some sparring?"

Kayo laughed as she got up, "You think I would say no, old man?"

Scott clutched at his chest, pretending to be wounded by her words, before laughing, "I'll show you,"

Kayo smirked and stepped onto the matts, "Bring it on."

* * *

Scott looked up from the holograms he was watching as a shadow fell across him. Too skinny to be Virgil, not tall enough to be John, and his hair not messy enough to be Gordon.

"Have you seen Kayo?" Scott asked his younger brother, swiping the hologram to get a closer look at a weather system closing in on the island. He realised just how much of a mood Alan was in when he replied, "No, I don't want to either,"

Scott rolled his eyes to himself, thinking about the pro's and con's of the Stubborn Tracy gene that, so far, hadn't passed through any of them.

He looked up to his youngest brother and nodded to the couch, "Why don't you come and sit down, it's a while since we talked,"

Scott wasn't sure if his brother had picked up on what he was planning on saying, or if Alan really just wasn't in the mood, but things needed sorting between them before a rescue got called in that required Kayo and Alan to work together. That morning they had been lucky, a burst pipeline close to shore meant that only Gordon had really been needed. Unfortunately that had meant that the Waffle Duel had had to be postponed until the boys could actually all sit down together for breakfast.

As Alan went to turn away, Scott hardened his voice, "Sit and talk Alan,"

Alan stood firm though, arms crossed over his chest as he gave his brother a hard stare, "I'm fine standing,"

Scott sighed and stood to face his brother, knowing already that the conversation wasn't going to go down as well as he had hoped. The eldest knew from experience that when Alan was mad he held onto his grudge for as long as possible, letting it brew and fester until he snapped. Not wanting to be the bad guy in his brothers eyes, Scott knew that he'd have to tread carefully.

"Why are you so angry with us?" Scott murmured, "Just because we've accepted what Kayo didn't tell us and moved on?"

Alan was quick to spit back, "Don't you think I had a right to know? To know that it was her _uncle_ that tried to kill you all! That tried to kill me!"

Scott nodded, "Maybe you did Alan, Kayo regrets not telling you. Dad trusted her though, so I don't see-"

"You're not Dad, Scott!" Alan yelled, cutting off his older brother that seemed to be trying so hard to be that man that he never could be, "You never will be who Dad was!"

He was satisfied that his blow has landed as Scott stepped back, his fists clenching and unclenching as his face reddened. It wasn't enough for Alan though, his fiery temper insisted on going all out. It had been a while since he had had a good screaming match with someone. He never got to vent any more. He hated venting at his brothers normally, they'd only ever looked out for him. It was his Dad who was the one he always flipped out at. Dad wasn't here any more though, "And you know what, Scott? Sometimes I wish he was here instead of you."

Scott didn't respond. He wasn't sure if he could without his voice giving him away. Instead, he just stepped back and nodded, "Okay," He turned to leave, not wanting to let the youngest see what his words meant to him. He wasn't going to hurt his little brother. He was going to walk away and let him cool off but he was stopped by Alan's yell, "At least Dad was man enough to yell back!"

Scott froze as his fists clenched, his nails digging into his palms almost drawing blood. His voice was a harsh whisper as he gave his brother a chance to take it back, "What did you say?"

Alan's voice was slow, clear, and unwavering when he replied, "At least dad had the guts to yell back at me. You can't even look at me."

Alan hid the lump of sudden fear that he swallowed when his brother turned back to him. The youngest continued on his rant, "When was the last time you thought about him Scott? Do you ever think about him any more? Or are you too busy taking over to ever think about your own father?"

His brother's voice was too quiet as he replied, "I think about him every day Alan,"

Alan couldn't help the scoff that rose in his throat. Scott probably hadn't thought about their father since Alan had insisted that he had heard him in the hospital. What had his brother done about it though? Alan hadn't heard about and orders for checking of CCTV, or any renewed search efforts. He was sure that he was the only one still holding onto the belief of their father being alive.

"Then why have you done nothing?" He spat back at Scott, "I told you he was there, at the hospital, and what have you done? Absolutely sod all! That's what!"

Scott was at breaking point, he didn't know what else he could do in the search for his father. Maybe Alan did hear him at the Hospital, but if that was so, why hadn't he hung around? Scott couldn't fathom why his father would do such thing, it was easier to imagine he wouldn't.

In the early days, Scott had spent hours searching the surface of the globe for some sort of sign of their father. There had been days where he had landed back at the Island on his last reserves of fuel. Only when Grandma had sat him down and reminded Scott of what his father would want, that the eldest had given up the active search. The only thing looking out for a sign now, was the systems on 'Five, constantly searching the globe for one, very specific, signal.

Scott shook his head at his younger brother, "What can I do Alan? We have searched and searched,"

He wasn't surprised that Alan stepped forward and jabbed a finger into Scott's chest. The boy's words though caught Scott off guard, "If you really cared, you'd still be out there looking!"

Scott sucked in a sharp breath, refusing to lash out at his youngest sibling, "We agreed, as a team, that our resources were better focused elsewhere,"

"No!" Alan yelled, his anger finally coming to a boil as his fist snapped back and swung forward into Scott's cheek.

Yet, the older brother still didn't hit back. When his younger sibling screamed and kicked and punched him again, he let him.

"Fight back!" Alan yelled with another punch, "Fight back like Dad would!"

"Alan!" Gordon exclaimed when he saw his oldest and youngest brothers on the ground, one beating hell out of the other, "Hey, Allie, cut it out!"

He tried to pull his partner in crime off of Scott, not wanting either of them to be hurt. The aquanaut wasn't strong enough though. It was fortunate timing that his other two brother chose exactly that moment to arrive in the lounge.

"What the," John exclaimed as both he and virgil dove at their youngest brother, each grabbing an arm and hauling him off of Scott kicking and screaming.

Virgil shook Alan a little harshly, "Cool it!"

John looked between the two brothers as Scott stood, trying to work out what had caused a fight, none of them had behaved like that in years, "What happened?"

Scott wiped some blood from his nose and gave the youngest brother a hard stare, "Ask Alan."

Even before his brothers had pulled him away from Scott, Alan had known that what he was doing wasn't right. How was anything he had blamed Scott for, Scott's fault? Yet, he had continued kicking and punching until well after John and Virgil had taken hold of him.

Embarrassment and guilt flooded every inch of him as he shrugged his brothers off, "I'm fine," He uttered, turning for the door and running out onto the deck, heading nowhere in particular.

The three middle brothers looked to each other in confusion, "What happened there?" John asked quietly, still staring after Alan. Gordon murmured, "Do you think it's about Kayo?"

Virgil shook his head, "I think there's something more, Alan wouldn't blow up at Scott about that," He paused and looked between his immediate older and younger brothers, "Would he?"

John shook his head, "Gordon, go and tell the others to stay low, I'll go to Alan,"

Virgil nodded, "I'll go to Scott."

Gordon sighed as both his older brothers headed to the kitchen. His eyes wandered over to the family photo on the wall that lead to the bedrooms, the five of them, Mom, and Dad. It had been a picnic in the park the summer before the avalanche, the second youngest remembered little bits of the day, getting piggybacks from his older brothers, showing Alan the best way to throw the bread into the duckpond. the bit he had remembered most though, was climbing into the tree after his older brothers, trying to be as fast and as strong as they were. When he had slipped and fallen, breaking his arm in the process, Scott had been quick to blame the others for following him. John had blamed Scott for insisting they climbed the tree in the first place.

It had been their father that had told them it was nobody's fault, reminding them that Gordon made a choice to follow them up that tree. Maybe it was a bad decision, but nobody had known what would happen. It was an accident that was nobody's fault.

"Does that make this an accident Dad?" He whispered, "Because I can't tell any more."


	16. Chapter 16

"I come in peace," Virgil announced, as he stuck a mug of cocoa through Scott's bedroom door. Out of all the responses he expected, the one he got wasn't one of them. A quiet, tired whisper replied, "Leave me be, Virg, please?"

The middle son stuck his head around the door with a frown, Scott was sat on his bed, head in hands, frame shaking.

"Not a snowflake's chance in hell," Virgil commented as he set the mug on Scott's dressed and sat next to him. He wrapped an arm around Scott's shoulder and sighed, "What was all that about?"

Scott shook his head with a sniff and tried to shrug his brother off, "I'm fine,"

He wasn't surprised that Virgil shook his head, "You know what, Scott? I'm just not buying it,"

Scott sighed and hid his face in his hands, feeling another lump rise in his throat as he thought back to what Alan had said, "I'm trying to do it all. I'm trying to be Dad, I'm trying to keep you all safe, I'm trying to keep on top of Tracy Enterprises. There's just so much, I can't,"

He sobbed into his hands again, not even bothering to try and get the words out now. Slowly, but surely, everything had been slowly eating away at the oldest brother, and finally he had broken. Alan's attack had been the last straw for the camels back and it had all come crashing down on Scott.

Virgil hated seeing his oldest brother crying but knew that they all had their moments. All he could do was sit with Scott until he got it all out of his system and was ready to talk. He couldn't work out for the life of him why his oldest and youngest brothers had had a fight. It was even harder to work out from what little Scott had said.

"Whatever Alan said," Virgil started quietly, "Whatever he did, I don't think he really meant it,"

Scott finally pulled his hands away from his face, Virgil winced at the bruise forming on his cheek where Alan's fist must have landed at least once. The older brothers eyes were red rimmed and still full of unshed tears, but he wasn't sobbing anymore, which was a start.

Scott kept his eyes trained on the floor as he whispered, "Do you ever wish that Dad was here? Like, how far would you go to have him back?"

From the corner of his eye he could see Virgil frowning, "I don't follow,"

Scott snorted and nodded, of course he didn't follow, he would have to spell it out for him, word by word, "If it meant getting Dad back, could you live without one of us?"

"No!" Virgil was quick to exclaim, "Scott, we all love and miss Dad, but I'd never, _ever_ , wish that he was here instead of one of you guys,"

Scott blinked back the fresh tears that stung his eyes, "Alan disagreed."

Virgil didn't say anything for a minute, trying to work out which was the best approach to take with the conversation. He knew that, deep down, Alan didn't mean it. The Sprout had lashed out in anger at Scott. At least, that was what Virgil hoped.

"Scott," He sighed, squeezing his older brother's shoulders lightly, "You do an amazing job with everything. Like you said, there's everything Dad used to do, on top of everything you did anyway, and we all want each other to be safer than ever," He paused, forcing himself to not think about what they would do if one of his brothers was seriously hurt. They couldn't lose someone else, not now that Dad was gone.

Virgil thought about all Scott did, remembering how little time the oldest now spent out in the pool or down tinkering in the hangars. Scott was always busy these days, _When did he last take a break?_ Virgil asked himself, recalling how all the others had had time off in the last year. How much was Scott doing on his own to keep everything going and everyone safe? When was the last time someone offered to help him? Scott would never ask for help, but he would accept it when offered. Nobody had thought about things outside of International Rescue, their Dad had always taken care of it.

Virgil suddenly felt disgusted with himself and his brothers, they'd been taking things for granted. They had simply assumed that everything was being taken care of and was all fine. This fight between his brothers had made Virgil realise that while it was all being taken care of, it was putting a huge strain on Scott.

"I don't think any of us really realise how much you're doing," He murmured quietly, really looking at his older brother now, taking in how heavy his eyes looked, "God Scott, how thin have you been spreading yourself?"

Scott shook his head, "I don't know," He admitted, it had just become automatic to put everyone else's needs first, "I just…"

"You're trying to be everything for everyone," Virgil pointed out, wincing when he thought about what Scott had said earlier, _I'm trying to be Dad_. Maybe that was the problem, Scott was trying to be what their father had been. Their father was their father though, Scott was their brother. Their father had taken the responsibility of Tracy Enterprises, taking Scott's share of the work if he ever got behind because of rescues. Their father had been an extra pair of eyes on missions, and someone for Scott to share his worries with.

 _Who does any of that now?_ Virgil asked himself, "You're not Dad, Scott, none of us expect you to take on all of his work on top of yours. If it's too much then stop being so damn stubborn and ask for some help,"

With a sigh Scott rested his head on his brother's shoulder, still refusing to admit that he was being stubborn but agreeing to what he was saying, "Maybe I could share it out a bit,"

Virgil smiled and shook his head, "Sure. Now, what was going on with Alan?"

Scott snorted and rolled his eyes, knowing he had to give his version of events to keep the peace. He found it ironic that Alan was missing something that they had all hated, "He's just missing his fights with Dad," Scott shook his head. He knew his brother had been looking for a chance to lash out. Scott had just been in the wrong place and the wrong time and had taken the blast that would have come eventually anyway.

"Ahh," Virgil nodded, "Should have seen that coming,"

Scott nudged his middle brother, "You'd better go and see him," He knew Alan would be kicking himself now for what he had said and done, Virgil would be able to talk him around though.

"John went after him," Virgil explained, "I'll go and find them in a while."

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while, both lost in their own thoughts about their family. Virgil thought about his immediate older brother and his girlfriend, wondering what would happen when they took their relationship further. There wasn't an _if_ about it, anyone could see John and Evie were simply meant to be. Virgil couldn't help but worry about what that meant for their family.

Scott sighed and looked up to the family photo on his dresser, thinking back to how simple everything had been when he had been when it had been taken. What he wouldn't give to go back to that carefree time of life, four younger brothers, two loving parents, and not a care in the world. He thought of his first brother, the first to have a relationship with an outsider. Evie seemed good for him though, a quiet pair happiest in their own company.

"John and Evie," Virgil murmured, "You don't think…"

Scott tore his gaze from the photo and looked to his younger brother as he trailed off, "What?"

Virgil shook his head, "You don't think John will want to abandon us for her, do you?"

Scott snorted, "Don't be absurd," He shook his head, "Didn't you hear Evie last night? She was right on everything," He thought back to the young woman's suggestions, "She's going for space training in the next couple of weeks. If she likes it, I wouldn't be surprised if there's three people going up with Three," He wrapped an arm around Virgil's shoulders, it was Scott's turn to reassure and comfort now, "I know John, and he wouldn't abandon us for anything," Scott smirked, "What is it they say about bro's before-"

"Don't," Virgil cut him off, "I doubt John would appreciate you calling his girlfriend that."

Scott sighed and shook his head, "Go and find them, take Gords and I'll catch up in a bit,"

Virgil hesitated as he stood up, watching his brother carefully to make sure that he wasn't about to break down again, "You sure you're okay?"

He relaxed when Scott smiled naturally, "Yeah, like you said, it's time I started asking for some help," He shrugged, "Maybe I'll get some more people in at the New York office, and I'll try to relax a bit more between rescues,"

Virgil nodded, satisfied that his brother would start looking after himself a bit better, "Good, and, Scott?"

Scott smiled, knowing what he was going to say before he said it, "I'll talk more," He nodded, "I promise,"

Virgil smiled back to his brother, "Alright then, I'll see you when you find us,"

"Sure thing," Scott sighed, "I won't be far behind you,"

Virgil laughed quietly as he stepped out of Scott's room thinking to himself, _You never were._

* * *

John sighed as he sat down next to his youngest brother, setting down the two bottles he had brought with him in the sand. Alan didn't look up from where he was staring out to sea, tear stains still on his cheeks as he sniffed quietly.

"We all miss him, Alan," John told his brother, "Even if we don't always show it,"

Alan shook his head with another sniff, "I know, I know you all do," He sighed and his his face against his knees, "Is it stupid that I miss him yelling at me?"

John smiled and lifted an arm over his younger brother's shoulder, "No, we all miss those sorts of thing," He looked to the bottles of beer and pulled them from the sand, handing one unopened bottle to his confused brother. John looked to the green bottle, an Italian brand that their father had preferred to the canned variety.

"You probably don't remember," John started, still looking at the bottle in his hands, "Scott's twenty first?"

Alan shook his head, "School trip to D.C."

John nodded, remembering the weekend all too well, "Dad was struggling that week," He explained, "I can't remember what had caused it, but he was burying himself in work again,"

John shook his head, "Scott was upset that Dad had seemed to have forgotten it was his big birthday, so, he went out with some mates,"

Alan listened quietly to his older brother, not seeing where he was going with the story and the bottle of beer. John usually had a point though, no matter how long it took to get here. So, Alan listened carefully, taking in each and every word.

"Scott went out and had one hell of a lot to drink," John shook his head, "He was lucky he didn't get poisoning. I'm not sure how it all worked out, I think he realised that his mates were over the limit and refused to get in the car with them,"

Alan nodded, that sounded like Scott to him.

"So he started walking home," John continued, shaking his head again as he looked down to Alan, "Then he got mugged,"

Alan frowned and sat straighter, "What?"

John nodded, remembering his own fear when Scott had come home covered in blood and bruises.

"Dad found him, somehow, and brought him home. It was all just cuts and bruises, but I blamed Dad and, for a while, Scott did too," John looked back to the bottle of beer in his hands, "If Dad had been there, Scott wouldn't have gotten drunk," He swallowed hard remembering Scott's reaction to the news headlines the next day, "It was pure luck that he didn't get in the car with the others. Luck Alan," He bit his lip, "Luck that Scott wasn't in the passenger seat when that car flew off the road."

Alan shook his head, he'd been away in D.C. clueless to what had been going on at home. By the time he had returned from the school trip, everything had seemed normal. It didn't take him long to realise, he was never meant to know. Like always, they were protecting the youngest from the harsh facts of reality. It was pure luck that the brothers were all here now, alive and well.

"Dad came to blaming himself too," John murmured, his voice quieter, "But, he used that, and he swore that he'd always be there for us," John held up the beer to Alan, "First with me, then with Virg and Gords, Dad made a point of taking us out on our twenty first birthdays. He'd share a beer with us, and made sure we got home safely,"

Alan looked to the beer in his hands, seeing it in a new light. Dad had missed his passage into adulthood, like he had missed Scott's. When he had blown up at his brother earlier, Alan realised, he had just reminded him of what their father had missed.

"I never thought about it like that," Virgil sighed as he sat at Alan's other side with Gordon, both with their own bottles of beer. He looked to Alan and smiled softly, "Scott's trying damn hard to be everything Dad was," He told all three of his brothers, "But there's some things," He looked to his beer and sighed longingly, "Some traditions, that he just can't do,"

Gordon nodded in agreement. Remembering his twenty first birthday and how Scott had been absent for the telling of the sombre story, but had appeared some time later when the others were getting a little giddy. It had been the same with all the others and Scott had seemed to be the only one to remember it for Alan.

"Here," Virgil passed his army knife across the line, allowing each of the four to cap their beer. They all touched the rims of the bottles, John being the one to murmur, "Happy birthday, Sprout,"

"Sorry it's a bit late," Gordon added.

Alan nodded and glanced up to the villa, "I-"

"Leave him," Virgil shook his head, "You know Scott, he'll come down when he's ready and pretend nothing's happened,"

He nodded again and looked to the beer, giving his own silent toast to his big brother before taking a swig.

* * *

Silhouetted by the light from the lounge, Scott leant in the doorway, looking down to the beach at the four shadows holding up bottles of beer. He looked down to his own glass of golden liquid, preferring something a little stronger on that particular night to his brothers. The oldest sighed and looked up to the darkening sky, raising the glass a fraction, "This one's for you Dad," He murmured, taking a sip of the whiskey before heading in to find another pack of beers.


	17. Chapter 17

Virgil smiled when he found Scott asleep on a sun lounger by the pool, his headphones plugged into his ears, no doubt playing something soft and soothing. Gordon was quietly swimming laps in the pool, his whole body just under the surface of the water, gliding silently along. John and Evie were sat on the steps talking about NASA and space training. Leaving Alan and Kayo patching things up somewhere inside.

Scott stirred as a shadow fell over him, "Go away," He mumbled, waving one arm in the general direction of whoever was stood over him.

He recognised his middle brothers quiet laugh, and sighed, accepting defeat as he opened his eyes, "What?"

Virgil smirked as he sat down on the next lounger, "You got an email,"

There was a splash from the pool as Gordon stopped his laps, "Who from!?"

Scott frowned as Virgil laughed, knowing that it must be something big if he had come and woken him up. If he had really thought about it, Scott would have asked Virgil what he had been doing on his emails anyway.

"Remember Jennifer Lakeland?" Virgil smirked to his redhaired brother making Scott groan. Why did she suddenly keep popping up everywhere? First at the Air Base fire, and now she was sending him emails. He wasn't going to hear the end of this soon.

Scott groaned internally as John joined the conversation, "The brunette from the air base fire?"

Virgil laughed and turned to John, nodding, "Yeah, I remember her now, we saw her a few times at the parties Scott dragged us out to,"

Scott opened his mouth to argue, he had not dragged them out, he had snuck them in at their request. Before he could argue the, Gordon started singing, "Scott and Jennifer sitting in a tree,"

He gave John a glare as he opened his mouth to finish the song. Evie saved him though, elbowing John in the ribs, "Don't be so mean, to him."

Gordon splashed water in her general direction, "We've got to make up for next week when he's not going to be here,"

Only when he'd finished did he notice the glare of his two immediate older brothers, and remembered that Scott didn't know yet. It was meant to be a surprise for him to go to the mainland for a few days to relax.

Slowly, Gordon sunk down in the water until he couldn't see or be seen over the edge of the pool wall. Avoiding the death glare that John and Virgil were giving him, Gordon looked to Scott, "It was their idea!"

Fortunately for Gordon, the klackson screeched at just that moment.

"What is it Alan?" Scott asked as everyone piled into the lounge.

Kayo had a headset to her ear and was talking as calmly as she could to whoever was on the other end. Alan had the maps already up and was plotting coordinates somewhere, "Earthquake," He told them, "It seems that only a small town has been effected but they're a long way from a big city,"

"Right," Scott nodded, already thinking through what they would probably find. He'd seen enough earthquakes to know what he should expect. They'd be out for a while if previous experience was anything to go by.

"I've been onto the utility suppliers," Kayo told the boys at they went to scatter, "They're shutting everything off as we speak,"

"Good job Kayo," Scott smiled to her, "Are you two good to manage-"

Alan cut his eldest brother off with a roll of the eyes, "Yes, go."

As the four men disappeared, Evie looked to Grandma, "Is there anything we can do?"

Grandma smiled sympathetically and patted the young woman's shoulder, "How about I dig out the chocolate cake from the store and make some coffee?"

Evie smiled and nodded gratefully, "That sounds nice,"

"M-mm-mind if I join you?" Brains asked as the pair turned to the kitchen. Evie turned to him and shook her head, "The more the merrier Brains."

* * *

Scott ducked out of the crumbled entrance of the town hall, the building that had the most people trapped. He wasn't sure if it was fortunate or unfortunate that there had been a town dance at the time of the earthquake. Most people had been at the town hall, leaving most of the homes empty. It made their job harder though, picking out of the trapped who needed rescuing most desperately.

"What have we got?" John asked as he tested a flashlight, the other two quick to join them.

Scott wiped the sweat from his brow, it was a hot night in southern France with no breeze to cool the men as they worked.

"All the main services are busy at a hotel fire in the city," Gordon reported, "Alan said they'll get here as soon as possible though,"

Virgil was last to join the huddle, "The city library is structurally sound, I've sent everyone there to regroup and do a head count,"

Scott nodded in approval, "There's about thirty people trapped inside, it's mostly a case of shifting rubble and stretchering them out," He turned and nodded to the hall, "It's unstable though. There's a bathroom that a group of girls are trapped in, but that's all that I know."

"I've got schematics," Alan announced through the comms before Brains took over, "Those bathrooms are supporting walls. If you damage them, the whole building c-cc-could crumble,"

The four brothers shared a look, all knowing what the others were thinking.

"Get everyone out as quickly and as safely as possible," Scott confirmed, opening his comms up, "Alan, Brains, Kayo, I'll get you a scan of inside, see if you can work out the best way to get through to those girls,"

"F.A.B." Everyone confirmed before scattering.

* * *

An hour later, everyone was out of the building, apart from the five girls trapped in the bathroom. Scott shook his head as the building groaned and shuddered around him and John. He wasn't happy with the only viable plan Brains had come up with. It was the only plan they had though- to drill the mole under the building, deep enough to avoid the foundations. "We've not got long," The older brother sighed, "We've been lucky to not have any-"

"Don't," John cut him off, "Don't say the word,"

Scott couldn't help but smirk, "I didn't have you down as superstitious?"

John laughed and shook his head. His brother was right, he normally didn't believe in all that nonsense. It wasn't a risk he was willing to take this time though, not with Evie waiting at home for him. John just shrugged to his brother, "You can't be too careful,"

Scott nodded in quiet agreement, "Come on then, let's let those two do their thing."

With little else he could do while his brothers tunneled under the building, Scott opened up his emails on his watch. Always keeping half an eye on what was happening around him, he opened up the email from Jennifer. This would be his only chance to read it privately.

 _Hi Scott. I hope you don't mind that I tracked down your email from one of the secretaries at Tracy enterprises. There's a big reunion party being planned in New York next month. Nobody was sure of where to find you, so I was volunteered to track you down._

Scott looked up as there was a rumble from below, John was already checking in with Virgil and Gordon.

"We're fine," Virgil told them, "Taking it steady,"

Scott nodded into the comms, "We're almost done, let's not screw up now,"

Gordon laughed, "Screw up? Us? Never!"

Evie interrupted the discussion, "Hey, Gords, are we having that Waffle duel after dinner? I'll clean the mole if you win,"

Scott shook his head and raised an eyebrow at John, silently asking him if she was really his girlfriend. In response John simply smiled and shrugged.

With a sigh, Scott looked back to the email-

 _It's at the Rutherford Hotel, just around the corner from Tracy Towers. You probably know that though. You always knew everything there was to know about anything (Show off)._

 _I miss talking to you Scott, we used to have such fun at the Air Base. Call me if you get chance, I left my number with your secretary._

 _I hope you're well,_

 _Jen._

Scott smiled to himself and closed the email. Looking back to the hole his brothers had descended down, Scott opened up the comms again, "How are you doing?"

He ignored his younger brothers rolling their eyes at him, "We're just heading up now, how's the structure holding?"

Scott opened the link to Base, "Guys?"

"Brains is just looking," Alan confirmed, "Yeah, you're looking good,"

Scott folded his arms and watched the building carefully, searching for weak points that would crumble first. There was little else he could do, an ambulance had arrived a while ago and was seeing to the injured, and everyone else was safe.

Scott found his thoughts drifting to his email from Jennifer. The others wanted him to take some time off. Maybe he could meet up with Jen next week and get out of whatever it was his brothers had organised. She had always been a flirt at the air base, fun to be around too. He missed their constant teasing at eachother. It would be good to catch up with her.

"Okay," Gordon broke into Scott's thoughts, "We've surfaced, I'm going out to get the girls and then we'll be on our way back,"

"Hey Scott," Virgil chuckled, "I remembered to put the extra seats in this time,"

Scott laughed and shook his head, "How nice of you, but I told you, Marion and I were fine sharing,"

"Hello, Ladies," Gordon was saying to the trapped women, "International Rescue, at your service,"

Scott looked up as a flock of sparrows fled from the oak tree they had been nesting in, flying up like a cloud of dust. He'd seen enough earthquakes to know the signs though. Scott knew what the cloud of birds meant.

"Gordon, get into the Mole. Now!"

John looked up to Scott, following his gaze to the birds. His heart leapt into his throat and his stomach knotted in fear as he heard the ominous low rumble. He crouched down as low as he could as the ground began to shake. As if it was a sandcastle, the village hall began to crumble before the eldest two brothers, both helpless to do anything to stop it.

"Gordon!" Virgil yelled over the comms, "Get in here!"

The shaking stopped. The dust settled. But the comms stayed silent.


	18. Chapter 18

Gordon groaned, he ached. Every little bit of him protested at even the slightest of movements. He couldn't move his arm that seemed too stretched out at an odd angle. Everywhere was dark. Why was it dark? Where was he?

He tried to pull his arm back again, needing to get to his watch, his brothers would be worrying. The arm didn't budge though. It was pinned down securely by the rubble around him, trapped in a hole too small for his hand. He wasn't going anywhere until someone got here.

He jumped slightly at a voice next to him, quiet and shy, "A-Are you okay?"

His head turned to the sligh blonde girl, crouched in a corner holding his torch. How had she gotten here? How had she gotten Gordon's torch?

"I'll be fine," Gordon forced a smile, "Just thought I'd see what was under all this rubble,"

The girl giggled, she couldn't be more than twelve or thirteen. Her pretty summer dress was ripped and dirtied, suggesting that it must have been her Gordon had been trying to rescue.

"Can you just remind me what happened?" Gordon asked her, "I think I hit my head."

The girl nodded quickly, she seemed eager to talk, to have her mind taken off of something. She probably wanted to forget what had happened, Gordon didn't blame her.

"There was another earthquake." Her single sentence explained so much to Gordon, brought all the memories flooding back. They'd been called to the village hall to rescue the trapped civilians. He had gotten out of the Mole to rescue the trapped group of girls.

"The other girls ran to your digger, thing," The blonde girl explained, "You came to help me because I've hurt my ankle,"

Gordon wanted to nod, but his head throbbed too much, "Right, okay then, well I'm sure my colleagues will be here soon."

* * *

Scott looked back over his shoulder as he wiped his brow, shifting rubble by hand was the most painstaking thing in the world. If only they knew whether Gordon was out of the way, then they could use the Mole to break through the rubble.

"Still nothing?" Alan asked over the comms, possibly more worried about his best friend than the others.

Scott sighed and shook his head to himself, "Not yet Sprout, I'll tell you if there is,"

"Scott!" Virgil yelled from the Mole, "I've got a life sign,"

The eldest brother didn't waste any time in jumping aboard to look at the information. It wasn't what they had wanted though.

"Right in the way," Scott sighed, "So we'll just have to keep digging."

Virgil nodded sadly, "I just hope he's okay, he's still not answering,"

The only thing that reassured Scott was what Gordon had already been through in his short life. He had survived the Hydrofoil crash, he could survive almost anything. The kid was a cockroach, in the best possible way.

"Une main!" One of the civilians outside shouted, "Une main!"

Scott's french was far from perfect, but he knew enough to know that they had found a hand. Someone's hand was reaching through the rubble to them.

Both he and Virgil jumped out of the mole and ran to where the volunteers were crowding with John. The middle brother of the three turned to Scott and Virgil, holding up a crushed yellow watch.

"Now we know where to dig," Scott whispered, determination taking over, "We've got to get him out."

"Well that would be helpful!" Gordon yelled when he heard his brother's concern through the rubble, "Can I have my watch back?"

He smiled when everything went silent for a moment before there were some relieved laughs.

"How are you doing Gords?" John called to him, as someone took his hand on the other side of the rubble. Gordon tried to shift again but winced as his back pulled, "I think I've damaged my back," He called back, "I can move, but it hurts,"

There was quiet chatter amongst his brothers, probably fussing over the best exit strategy for him. Gordon sighed and looked to the girl, a sudden thought occurring to him, "You speak flawless english."

The girl smiled and nodded, "My Father is from London, he and my mother met on an exchange trip,"

Gordon smiled, "Well that's handy, I'm afraid I never much liked French at school,"

The girl shook her head, "Who does enjoy school at all?"

"Don't let the others hear you say that!" Gordon laughed, "Swots, the lot of them."

Scott looked to the hand sticking out from the rubble as they shifted more debris, "No need to hurry, he's laughing enough,"

Virgil and John laughed too, "When isn't Gordon laughing?"

The three smiled and carried on their work, glad that the redhead seemed okay despite what had happened.

* * *

Kayo smiled to Evie as they stepped out of the simulator, "You're doing really well, I'm sure we'll have you ready in two weeks,"

Evie smiled at the compliment, a pale red rising up her cheeks, "Is that anything like going up in the real thing?"

Kayo shrugged, nothing was quite like going in a Thunderbird for the first time. You hadn't experienced it properly until you had done it. Not even Brains' simulator could compare to the real thing.

"It's as close as you're going to get," Kayo admitted, "But like I said, antigravity is antigravity, once you're up there, that doesn't change,"

Evie nodded in agreement, her mind wandering to the four men in southern France, "I wonder how they're getting on, I hope Gordon's okay,"

She frowned as Kayo smiled and shook her head, "Gordon's as tough as old boots," They paused to look at the photo they just happened to be passing at the time, "Eighteen months," Kayo murmured, "Eighteen months between his Hydrofoil accident and winning olympic gold."

Not for the first time, Evie found herself thinking that the Tracy family was truly spectacular in every way. She still felt like an outsider though, only knowing what the news reports and John had told her.

Kayo noticed the older woman, picked up on the way she seemed to be unaware of so much of the family history. If she was going to be living with them though, she needed to know as much as she wanted. It seemed only fair to Kayo.

"Cheap parts," Kayo stated, "Or missing," She shrugged, "There's not much difference really, either way, someone didn't think about safety. Gordon and his crew paid the price."

Evie looked to the other woman, "He was the only one to survive, wasn't he?"

Kayo nodded, remembering the pained look on the young man's face whenever he had to talk about what had happened. He didn't resent surviving, but it still pained him to know that he was the only one.

"I think it hurts him even more to know that it could have been prevented," Kayo explained, smiling slightly, "He doesn't let it get him down though."

Evie pursed her lips as they continued to walk towards the lounge. Another question was begging to be asked, but it was a sensitive one, John had told her that much. The rest of the story about how Kayo came to International Rescue was lost to her though.

"The Hood," Kayo started, looking down to the hardwood floor beneath their feet, "My uncle, ran an illegal diamond mine," She sighed and turned towards her bedroom, walking straight through and out to the balcony. Leaning on the railing she watched the wave crash against the red rock that made up most of the island, "He bullied my father into working for him, I was too young to really understand it all at the time. I think my father agreed to it to get the money, to send me to school so I could get away from where we lived," She smiled sadly, hardly aware of the older woman stood next to her, listening quietly to whatever Kayo had to say, "It was after a typhoon, I begged and begged my father to not go down there, but he did, and the mine collapsed."

Looking up to the sky and closing her eyes, Kayo smiled slightly. She could remember the warm breeze from that day, as she had stood near the mine, screaming and begging for help. then the rescuers had come, the roar of their mighty engines aweing her.

"It was their father that dragged my father out, somehow they had both gotten hurt," Kayo frowned, "I think they said something about saving each others lives," She shrugged, "I think that's why they brought us here anyway."

As the memory of an engine's roar was replaced by the sound of the engine itself, Kayo opened her eyes and smiled, "They're back."

"Alan would have told us if something was wrong with Gordon," Evie guessed, relaxing slightly. Kayo was glad that she wasn't giving her the sympathy card, it wasn't what the younger of them wanted.

"Yeah," Kayo agreed, "They're probably tired and hungry,"

Evie smiled and turned to head to the kitchen, "Shall we go and whip up some waffles then?"

Kayo laughed and nodded, "What better way to tease the joker?"


	19. Chapter 19

Scott sighed as he looked across to his phone again, so tempted to ring home and see how his brothers were, but knowing that they would tell him off for fussing. It wasn't his fault that he worried about them so much, it was big brother instinct. He needed a distraction, something to take his mind off of the long day that lay ahead. With a groan, Scott threw himself backwards on the bed hating not having anything to do with himself. The first two days had been fine, he had spent time on the beach and in the local bar, visited the health spa, and bought some new clothes. The best part of his break so far had been bumping into Jenny just outside of the designer store. Scott closed his eyes, smiling at the memory…

As he headed for the cashier, Scott's phone buzzed in his hand, making him look down to the screen. It was only a text from Kayo informing him that his brothers were all home safely after the landslide in Fiji. Scott smiled and felt some of the tension unwind from his shoulders, that was the worst bit about being away from home. His feet kept moving forward as he typed out a response to his adopted sister, his eyes glued to the screen, he didn't even notice the woman on her phone cursing quietly. He only noticed her when the pair were in a heap on the floor.

"Oh, god, I'm sorry," Scott exclaimed as he pulled away from her, looking to her ashen face. The woman pursed her lips in embarrassment but was smiling too, "Scott?"

Scott frowned, as he looked up from the shirts he had dropped, quickly sticking the voice to the woman's face, "Jenny!" He smiled, "How are you?"

She smiled and looked down, composing herself quickly before looking back to him, "I'm okay thanks, I didn't know you were in town though."

Scott rolled his eyes, "Surprise holiday, my brothers made me come out here," He explained, thinking about how fed up he would be once he got back to the hotel, "Say, do you fancy going for lunch? I've not got anywhere to be, I'll only go and sit by the pool when I go back to the hotel,"

Jenny laughed at him, "You ask me how I am, and now you're inviting me to lunch? Careful Scott, someone might think you're flirting!"

Scott rolled his eyes and shook his head, of course he should have seen the comment coming. He wasn't sure why he had been so quick to jump to asking her for lunch, but it certainly was nice to see her. The fact that her dress sense- a tight pair of jeans and low cut t-shirt- hadn't changed, made things all the better. He was reassured by her smile that she was only teasing him, as always, and it wasn't another second before she nodded, "Lunch would be nice."

… Scott had hoped that Jenny would be around for the rest of his week at home, but she had been called out to a mission somewhere in the amazonian jungle. She had promised to try and get back before he left for home, but neither had been hopeful. Their lunch had been just like old times at the Air Base; constant flirting and jokes. Both parties had enjoyed the others company and had promised to stay in touch better than they had been doing.

So lost to his thoughts, Scott jumped when his phone let out a shrill ring. Without even looking to see the caller ID, he answered it and held it to his ear, "Hello?"

"Scott," It was Jenny.

His mind raced, had the mission been called off? Had she refused to go as was waiting outside for him? _Don't be ridiculous,_ Scott scolded himself.

"Hey, Jen, is everything okay?"

Her voice was such a sharp contrast from what it had been a few days ago, so soft and quiet as she replied, "Scott, we've found a plane," Her voice dropped again as Scott's grip on the phone loosened, "A plane marked, Tracy Four."

* * *

Jenny pursed her lips as the whir of the helijet faded into the distance. She was glad she had called Scott, it was the right thing to do. So, why did she feel so bad about it?

 _Because you've found the jet he has spent a year looking for?_ She suggested to herself, _Because you know just what it's like to lose your family?_

"Thanks for bringing me over," Scott broke into her thoughts, "Has anyone been in?"

Without looking up, Jenny shook her head, "No, I decided by rights that you should have the choice to go first,"

Jenny looked up to him, seeing the muscle in his jaw tense. She wasn't sure why she reached out to take his hand, but she did, and it made him relax just a little bit.

Glancing back over her shoulder to the team setting up analytical equipment behind them she murmured, "You don't have to go in if you don't want to."

Scott took a sharp breath in, dreading what he may or may not find on board Tracy Four, "If anyone goes in there, it's behind me," He told the brunette, "I owe that to him,"

When Jenny offered him a small smile, he couldn't help but return one of his own. Both knew that the other still regarded them as a close friend, the years without contact hadn't changed that. Scott could only assume that it was that the prompted him to say, "Would you come in with me?"

Without hesitation Jenny nodded, "Of course, I'll just tell the others to stay here,"

Scott took the few steps up to the craft while she ran back to the team setting up. Almost automatically his hand reached up to touch the scorched paint of the aircraft's name. A fire had brought the jet down, but he didn't know what had started it. He didn't even know if his father was still inside.

With that thought, Scott clambered up into the jet ignoring the ruined leather seats as he made his way to the cockpit. His father was an experienced pilot. So, why had he crashed in the trees and not the clearing Scott's helijet had landed in?

The cockpit door was open, broken on it's hinges and leaning across the aisle obscuring the view of the front of the plane. It only needed a shove from Scott to shift it out of the way.

He hesitated, suddenly unsure of what he wanted to find in the pilot's seat. Confirmation that his father was gone and never coming back?

"You need to know," Scott whispered to himself, forcing one foot to move forward and the other to follow. He ducked under some loose wiring and looked straight ahead to the cracked and smashed windows. Reminding himself that it probably wouldn't be pretty, Scott closed his eyes as he took the final step into the cockpit of the plane.

Around him he could hear the chatter of Jenny's team outside, the gentle bubbling of a stream not so far away, giving off a damp smell to the area.

 _Wait,_ Scott stopped himself before he opened his eyes, _The smell. It doesn't smell of…_ He trailed off and opened his eyes with a gasp, instantly zoning in on the pilot's seat.

"Jenny!" He yelled, still not taking his eyes from the seat, "Jenny! Get in here!"

She was there at his side almost instantly, he wasn't quite sure how she had gotten to him so quickly and quietly. Then again, he wasn't really bothered right then. All he could focus on was the seat in front of them. Blood smeared on the once clean leather fabric and over the smooth metal of the controls. The seat though, the seat that Scott had sat in on so many supply runs for the island, the seat that he had argued about with his father over whose turn it was to be pilot, was empty.

Scott's hands were shaking, his whole frame was. His eyes were jumping around the small space, trying to take in every tiny detail. The way the blood smeared from the seat, down to the floor. Scott stepped over to the broken door, looking up to the smeared line of red and lifting his arm to match it. He could picture the scene in his head as he glanced around the cockpit again.

After the crash his father had woke up. His arm was bleeding, probably from a shard of glass. He'd forced himself to get up, he had abandoned the plane for a better chance of survival. The crash must have left him with some form of a concussion though, leaving him dizzy and uncoordinated. He'd fallen against the door, using his cut arm to support himself. The first aid kit was stored above the door, maybe the mark had been left when he was reaching up for it.

Scott's train of thought was cut off by Jenny, "Scott, there's too many possibilities," She told him quietly, not wanting to break his heart, knowing how bad it could hurt, "He might have got out but that doesn't mean…"

Scott looked to her and nodded with a whisper, "I know," He looked to the controls, the small blue box peaking out from beneath the panel, "I need that box."

Jenny followed his line of sight and frowned, "What is it?"

"Something he told me never to let anyone else get hold of," Scott murmured, "God, where is he?" His legs buckled, "Where has he gone Jen? That's all I need to know."

She was there, hugging him tightly, "We'll find out Scott," She whispered, "How about we go back to my camp and talk?"

In his head Scott knew it was the sensible thing to do, he was tired and in shock. They had come so close to finding his father yet were so far away. So, with a nod of his head and a swipe of the hand to remove the blue box, Scott followed Jenny off of the jet.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Scott forced a smile as Jenny sat next to him on the camp bed, handing over a bottle of water as she did. They leant against each other in comfortable silence, simply processing what had been discovered not so long ago. Scott wasn't quite sure what to think, how had Jenny found the plane when they hadn't? The boys had spent months scouring the earth and ocean for some sort of sign, yet they had found nothing. Scott hated to admit to himself that it was almost like his father didn't want to be found.

"Don't blame yourself, Scott," Jenny murmured, noticing the frown on his face, "I was following your search, you did everything you could," She took his hand that was resting on his knee, feeling so sorry that she had been the one to bring him such news. The squeeze his hand gave hers, surprised Jenny as he spoke, "He could still be out there,"

"I've got my best team working on it," Jenny assured, "You'll find him, Scott."

Scott smiled at her insistence, she was always so determined to succeed. So determined to get answers for her questions. He didn't think even she could get this answer though. With a sigh, he lifted his arm over her shoulder, "I hope so Jen," He swallowed hard, trying to expand the tightness of his throat, "I don't know what I'd do if we didn't, if we gave up the hope," A dampness had sprung to his eyes at the thought, leaking out onto his cheeks. He sniffed and shook his head at himself, "God, look at me."

He closed his eyes and took a long breath in to calm himself, letting it out slowly. The thought that he might never see his father again just hurt too much to bear. Scott had to hold on to the hope that they would find him, if he didn't he simply wouldn't be able to carry on. To lose their father as suddenly as they had lost their mother just seemed too unfair. The world was unfair though, a cruel mistress, Scott knew that. He saw it almost daily on rescues; lives taken in the blink of an eye.

A light hand brushed away the damp on his cheek, so soft and gentle he didn't realise at first that it was Jenny. He didn't think she could have such soft hands with all the mechanical work she did, women had their ways though as Kayo always insisted. Wiping his other cheek, scott looked to Jenny and smiled, "Thanks,"

She smiled back as their eyes locked, earthy brown and ocean blue. Her tone didn't have its usual flirtatious tone when she murmured, "My pleasure."

For the first time Scot truly noticed the burst in his stomach as he looked to Jenny. He had felt the little jump everytime he had seen her. That was the first time he really noticed it though, the first time that it sent his heart racing, the first time that one side of his mouth had pulled up in a smile. He played her words again in his head, trying to find exactly what she meant by 'my pleasure' spoken so softly and innocently. It was almost like she hadn't wanted him to hear her say it. Was she embarrassed? Why would she be embarrassed though?

He still hadn't looked away from her eyes, they looked almost pleading, begging for him to understand what she was saying, to find her hidden meaning. He'd seen the look before, though he hadn't realised it. Where had he seen it?

 _Everytime we spoke,_ He realised. Every 'harmless' flirtatious joke, every passing comment, every innuendo. None of it was just Jenny being Jenny, not when she spoke to him with that look in her eye. The look of a woman pleading to be noticed.

He'd seen that look somewhere else though, somewhere closer to home. Not recently though, not since…

 _Penelope._ He thought, remembering how he had teased her once about being doe eyed for his father. She had brushed him off, insisting that it wasn't serious, just a schoolgirl crush.

A schoolgirl crush.

He smiled as it all clicked into place, feeling like a blind man that had suddenly opened his eyes. How hadn't he seen it in himself? How his heart had flipped at her emails, how he had thought about her almost every day since he had left the Air Force, how it had been years but they still just clicked. It wasn't just friendship they had. He didn't just like her. Scott Tracy fancied her. He fancied her big style.

 _You're not getting any younger,_ He shrugged mentally as Jenny pursed her lips. He smiled, wondering just how soft they were. Turns out Jenny wasn't the only one who went looking for answers when she had questions.

Jenny gasped lightly as their lips met for the briefest of seconds. That brief moment was all it took to leave her hazy minded and dazed. She couldn't help but smile and blush as Scott's eyes flitted over her face, from feature to feature. His hand was so light as he brushed a loose strand of hair back from her face, she realised that, all of a sudden, he couldn't keep his hands off of her.

"I've waited a long time for that," Jenny whispered, "You have no idea how long,"

her breath hitched as Scott leant in to kiss her cheek this time, before his lips brushed her ear, "I think I do," He whispered, his breath warm on her skin.

She was about to reply when someone pulled the tent door open, as if pulling the material apart also pulled the lovers apart.

"Captain Lakeland, your Helijet is here," The man announced, making Scott sigh. He knew it was for him to head home, even though he wasn't ready. Not now.

"Get Captain Lacey to come down," Jenny ordered, pulling away and standing up, "Matthews, you're in charge until he gets here,"

Matthews nodded as she passed him, pulling Scott along with her out to the waiting helijet. He chuckled and pulled her to a stop outside of the jet, "Are you sure you won't get into trouble for this?"

Jenny shrugged, "I'm a captain and they pulled me out of my vacation, they can go and-"

Scott cut her off with a quick kiss, before she could say anything that _would_ get her into trouble, "We'd better get going then."

* * *

Scott smiled the next morning as Jenny shifted in his arms. She had been amazed by the sheer size of his hotel suite and how beautiful it all was. Scott was sure she hadn't realised just how rich his family was, but she knew now, she knew a lot more now and he knew a lot more about her. He had never known that her entire family had died in a minivan crash on the way to her cousin's wedding, leaving her with her estranged father. That explained a lot to him, her sleepless nights back at the air base, the reluctance to take holiday leave when she was ordered to. He'd always known she was a sensitive person on certain topics, but that didn't mean that she didn't hold her own on the air base. If anything, it had made her even better suited to the role.

She looked so peaceful, asleep in one of his shirts, having not had chance to bring any of her own clothes to wear. He'd leave her to sleep for a while longer, they'd been up until the early hours and it would be a nice change for her to get a lie in.

Scott sighed as his wrist comm vibrated on the cabinet next to the bed, "What now?" He uttered as he answered, "Hey Kayo,"

The hologram smirked and raised an eyebrow, "Still in bed, huh? That's got to be a first!"

Scott rolled his eyes and shook his head, "I was up until late, was there something you wanted?"

Kayo nodded, "EOS called from Five, apparently some of the components for the new elevator have been damaged by something. There was a meteor shower last night that she was on the edge of, so it was probably a stray meteor,"

Scott smiled, having guessed what was coming next, "Well, we've not heard any more from, you-know-who, I say he can go up and fix it. How's Evie going?"

Kayo grinned and nodded, glancing over her shoulder before dropping her voice, "I say she's ready, she's got the basics down, I think she can learn the rest on the job,"

Scott smile, glad his plan was working out, "And she's sure she doesn't want to go to NASA?"

Kayo nodded once affirmatively, "A hundred percent certain."

"Well you can go ahead with it, just keep me in the loop,"

Kayo tutted and rolled her eyes, "F-A-B, Scott."

As the call cut out Scott glanced over to Jenny, checking she was still asleep and hadn't heard any of the call. His eye caught the blue box on the dresser and he sighed, he wasn't sure he'd ever be ready to listen to the message, but he knew he had to and today was that day. Leaning over to kiss Jenny's cheek he pushed the covers back and headed to the lounge with the box, uttering as he went, "Putting it off won't do you any good Tracy."

He set the box down on the coffee table and plugged the wires into his holopad, it only took a minute for the recording to load and the play button to appear on his screen. Scott's finger hovered above the button, his heart thudding too loud in his ears. He knew he had to listen to the message though, find out what had happened to his father.

Sucking in a deep breath, he hit the button.

"Scott," His fathers deep baritone voice sounded so comforting to him right then, after so long, he allowed himself to smile for a moment as his father paused, "Well, I'll assume it's Scott listening, I imagine he'll insist… Boys," He started again, "I'm sorry for disappearing on you like this, if you've found the box then you'll have found the plane. It's the Hood, he's on my tail with a fighter jet, my plane is hit and I'm going down. Don't worry though, I'll find a way out," Scott pressed his fingers to his lips, glad his father had confirmed his suspicions that he had, somehow, found a way out.

"The Hood has been sending threats to me for a long time now," Jeff continued, "I decided it was time to put a stop to him before any real damage was done. I do have a plan to keep him away from you all, it's my hope to keep all of you safe."

Scott sighed, "I don't care why, Dad, where are you?"

His father didn't answer Scott's question though, the disembodied voice simply continued, unaware of its audience, "I'm going to keep the Hood away from you all and do what I can to bring an end to his power hunger," His father let out a heavy sigh, "I wish I could come home boys, I wish I could call and tell you I'm safe but it's too dangerous and you have a job to do. I love you all, and I promise to come home as soon as I can."

Scott didn't know whether to laugh or cry as the transmission cut out, leaving him alone once more and still clueless about what had happened to his father. He knew something though. While his father had abandoned him and his brothers, Scott knew that his reasoning was fair. If it were him, Scott knew he would do the same thing. All their father wanted was to keep the family safe, and this was the best way to do it.

He looked up as a shadow fell across the doorway to the bedroom. A small smile gracing his lips at the sight of Jenny's bed hair. For now he would put it out of his mind, there were more current matters at hand. Scott stood and pulled the woman into his arms,

"And what would you like to do today, gorgeous?"


	21. Chapter 21

John smiled as he stepped back onto his satellite, "Hello, EOS,"

"Hello, John, Kayo, Alan," The unit responded, "Shall I call your brothers and tell them you've arrived?"

John smiled and nodded, "Scott will only call us otherwise,"

Alan sighed as he set the boxes he was carrying down on the floor, "EOS, can you reduce the gravity? It'll make these boxes easier to carry."

Kayo laughed at her partner's complaining, having picked up two much lighter boxes than he had. She carried them effortlessly into the gravity ring, "Where do you want them John?"

She smiled as John hung in the airlock, heading back in to grab some more of the boxes, "In the cargo bay, thanks Kayo,"

Kayo smiled and nodded, "I think there was just one left, I brought it up,"

John was in the space between the two airlock doors now, he'd spotted the box as Alan and Kayo headed off to the cargo bay. Alan shook his head and whispered to Kayo, "I don't get why we're keeping it a secret? Why not just tell him?"

Kayo rolled her eyes, "Don't you think he'd like a surprise? Besides, it's kind of romantic,"

Alan frowned and shook his head, "Whatever you say, Kayo."

John set the box down outside the airlock and turned back to close both doors, making sure they were properly shut before lifting his box again. As he straightened up, there was the familiar, ca-clunk and hiss of the airlock door.

"What the-" John frowned as he turned to the reopened airlock door, "EOS, did you open the airlock?"

The camera came up behind him, "Why would I open the airlock John? Everyone is inside putting the supplies away."

John looked to the open doorway again and nodded, "That's what I thought."

Shifting his weight to propel himself forward through the zero gravity and into the airlock, John told the programme, "Check all the electrics again, it might be a fault,"

He was in the centre of the small space now, looking up at the second doorway that lead to Thunderbird Three. From behind him there was a quiet giggle and a murmur of, "Honey, I'm home."

John spun around quickly, finally catching sight of the woman in blue hidden next to the hole of the doorway. She pushed herself through the space, too graceful for it to be her first time in antigravity, while John floated, frozen in shock. She was meant to be on her way to NASA, she hadn't done any training yet.

"Evie?" He stuttered out, "What are you doing here?"

Evie laughed at the mix of confusion and happiness on John's face. She had known the moment Scott had made the suggestion that it would make John happy. She had never realised just how happy though.

She laughed again as she finally landed in his arms, still getting used to propelling herself around the space, "Well, we were all talking," She admitted, "And thought it would be nice if you had some company up here,"

She glanced over her shoulder to the unit that had followed John to her, "I didn't know you already had some though,"

John laughed and kept a hold of her waist, being sure to not let her float away from him, "That's EOS, don't mind her. EOS, you remember me talking about Evie, don't you?"

The camera on the unit moved up and down, Evie wasn't sure if she should take it as a nod or as an inspection. She was relieved, if not a little bashful, when the unit responded, "This is the nice woman that you talked to online."

Evie grinned as Kayo and Alan returned, "Ahh, you found your surprise then, John,"

John finally looked away from Evie and to the younger pair, "You all knew about this?"

Alan shrugged, "Not until this morning, apparently I can't keep a secret,"

John laughed and nodded, knowing that was in fact true. He looked back to Evie and shook his head, "But, training? NASA?"

Kayo laughed, "Who needs NASA training when you've got IR training?"

Evie smiled and looked up to John, "Have you _seen_ Kayo's training regime? It's way more intense than NASA could ever be!"

EOS moved forward, closer to the airlock, not understanding what was going on with the new woman dressed in the same uniform as the others, "Does that mean Evie is staying here with us, John?"

John looked to his girlfriend and raised an eyebrow, checking that she was in fact staying and not paying a visit. Evie smiled to him and then looked up to the unit, "You don't mind, do you EOS?"

"It will be nice to have some more company," EOS confirmed, "Especially if it makes John happy,"

John laughed and kissed Evie's cheek, "And here was me thinking I wasn't going to see you for a month," Again he noticed the blue space suit, familiarly similar to Kayo's uniform, "And what's this?"

"One of mine," Kayo explained as Evie nodded. John smiled, loving how the tight outfit moulded to her body perfectly. He looked forward to getting to spend some real time alone with his girlfriend. Since they had finally met everything had been so hectic, they hadn't actually spent all that much time together as a couple.

"I didn't want to jump the gun," Evie admitted, "Incase you didn't want me up here,"

John frowned, turning her to face him and holding her in place by her shoulders, "What do you mean?" He smiled and shook his head to himself, "You coming up here is brilliant, I couldn't think of anything better, truly."

The two were leaning in to kiss when someone cleared their throat. It wasn't the light, quiet cough of Alan, rather, a more mature sound that only one of John's brothers seemed to have mastered. John looked up to the hologram of his older brother that EOS was projecting, raising an eyebrow in question.

Scott smiled at the hologram he was receiving from Thunderbird Five, unable to not be happy for his brother and his girlfriend. Even he couldn't deny that the woman had picked up everything incredibly quickly, she was eager to learn and help. He didn't doubt that she would make a perfect member of the team. In the corner of his eye he saw Kayo's hologram nod slightly, signalling that the announcement was to be made.

"Well then, Evie," Scott looked from John to the redhaired woman, "Welcome to International Rescue."

He laughed as the couple's faces dropped in shock before Evie gasped and squealed.

"Just don't let it distract you," Scott warned with a smirk, "Alan, Kayo, do you want me to pick you up chinese on my way back,"

Kayo nodded, "Yeah," She glanced to the lovebirds, "We'll head back once we've finished unloading,"

"Hey, Scott?" John called as the older brother reached out to cut off the call, "Thanks,"

Scott smiled, "It's what big brothers are for Johnny."

* * *

Once Alan and Kayo were safely on their way home, John sat in the lounge with Evie, "So everyone knew?"

Evie smiled and nodded, curling into his side as they watched the stars, "Even EOS."

John shook his head in disbelief, amazed that they had managed to slip something so big past him. It would be strange at first, adjusting to having somebody else permanently on board. As he had confessed earlier though, he wouldn't have it any differently. Evie coming up here was like a dream. Although he sometimes pined for human company, he was always quick to grow tired of life on earth. She had made it bearable though, and if he didn't have a duty to International Rescue he certainly would have stayed earth side longer thanks to her.

"Calling International Rescue! Please, come in!" John was up and off of the couch before Evie had even registered the call. She was quick to follow him into the control room, where John was already answering the distress call. Not wanting to get in the way, Evie hung back a little, listening to what John was saying, "We have a team on their way to you, don't wory, we'll get you off of that boat!"

John glanced over his shoulder and smiled warmly to Evie, hanging back. He held an arm out to her, inviting her over to see what was happening. Looking back to the comms as Virgil's hologram came up, John smiled, "Nice and easy one for you guys,"

Gordon laughed, "Sure, because everything always goes to plan for us."

"What's the situation, John?"

John swiped up the hologram with his hand and pinpointed the problem on the cargo ship, "A cargo ship heading from Australia to New Zealand, they're not sure how but there's a fire on board,"

Evie frowned and looked up to him, John felt her eyes on him as she asked, "What will they do about the cargo?"

John pointed to the ship, circling the area already engulfed by the fire, "Most of it has already been lost, but it's our job to get the crew off of there," He turned his attention to his brothers, marking the top deck, "They're all assembled on the top deck, fifteen of them in total,"

"I've got the ship in sight now," Virgil told them, "They'll be out of there in no time,"

John nodded, "I'll tell them to be ready,"

"F-A-B."

John smiled to Evie as he brought up the comm link, "Want a go?"

She pursed her lips and shook her head, "I don't know what to say,"

John laughed softly, "It's easy," He opened the link and announced, "This is International Rescue to Pioneer three. Our team has reached you and will be bringing a rescue platform down to you imminently. Please be ready for evacuation."

It only took a moment for someone to reply, "This is Pioneer Three to International Rescue, we are ready for evacuation and would like to thank you for your assistance."

"We're just doing our job Pioneer Three," John grinned, "I'll hand you over to my colleagues now,"

Gordon nodded on the hologram, "We'll take it from here."

"F-A-B."

John closed the link and looked to EOS' unit, "Can you keep an eye on that until they've got to safety EOS?"

"Of course, John. Is there anything else you'd like?" The child like voice responded, it's camera looking between the pair, "Is there anything I can get you, Evie?"

John smiled as the woman next to him blushed and covered a quiet gurgle of her stomach with her hands. He took her hand and pushed off in the low gravity, "Let's get something to eat,"

Evie pulled a face, "You mean cardboard space food?"

John shook his head, with a smile, so grateful that he got the commodities that other astronauts didn't, "Nope, we've got all the home comforts up here."

Evie frowned at him in confusion, "How come?"

John smiled as the gravity of the lounge took over and he landed gracefully on the floor. He had to fight a laugh as Evie stumbled a little at the sudden change of mass, "Sorry, I should have warned you, the others insist I keep normal gravity in some parts of the 'bird,"

Evie laughed with him, "Well, I suppose it's easier when you're eating,"

John nodded, "That's for sure," he reached over to a button, "But the systems let me turn it off whenever I want."

Evie shook her head, "And you're not selling this technology to the world because...?"

John turned out to look at the stars, facing away from earth. It was so dark and empty, so peaceful. He wrapped an arm around Evie's waist as she looked out with him, her eyes wide in wonder at the sight he knew she had never seen before.

"Because it would make space very popular," John murmured, "And I think that only people that can truly appreciate the peace should be allowed up here to enjoy it."

Evie smiled and leant into his side, resting her head on his shoulder as they watched the darkness. Her voice was quiet and gentle as she replied, "You know what John? I couldn't agree more."


	22. Chapter 22

**Sorry I've not updated in forever! Life has gotten in the way recently! But I do have the news that the next few chapters are already written out, I just want to tweak them before posting! I don't think this is my best but felt like I wasn't really getting anywhere with it otherwise so here you go...**

* * *

Scott closed the comms link with John as Jenny stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in another one of his shirts. She smiled shyly to him and sat down on the bed next to him, "Thank you, I've had a lovely weekend."

Scott smiled and pulled her into his lap so he could kiss her properly. She smelt of passion fruit and citrus, the same shampoo she had always used at the air base, the same one that had always driven him crazy with desire.

Jenny sighed and pulled back, her cheeks warm in response to the brush of his moist lips on hers. Her heart was thudding in her ears, as his hand crept up her neck and tangled in her hair, "Scott," Her voice came out low and breathy, she took a moment to close her eyes and steady her voice, "Scott, I… can we not…" She sighed and looked away from him, angry and embarrassed at herself for pushing away the man she had fantasised over for so long.

He didn't sound angry as his fingers brushed her cheek, such a light touch for a former air force captain, "No," He whispered, "We don't have to do anything until you're ready." He smirked as he kissed the tip of her nose, "I must admit though, I didn't have you down as the shy type."

Jenny leant into his shoulder, appreciating the warmth his body gave to hers as his arms wrapped securely around her. She felt safe, as if the force of the world couldn't hurt her when she was in his arms. A small smile graced her lips as Scot rested his chin lightly on her head, she liked the contact, it had been so long since someone had held her like this.

"I built up a pretty hard shell over the years," She admitted quietly, remembering that he was leaving in the morning, "Must you go?"

"Yeah," Scott sighed, shifting further back onto the bed but not letting up on his hold on her, "I need to get back to work, and my brothers," His lips brushed her hair, making Jenny smile a little, "But I'll see you at the reunion."

She sat up and looked to him in disbelief, he never came to the reunions. He always had some excuse or another lined up and waiting.

"You'll come?"

Scott shrugged and smiled, "Now that I've got a date."

Jenny laughed and kissed him, her head spinning with all the thoughts of him in a suit flying about. Before, she hadn't been looking forward to the reunion. Now though, she would be more than happy to go.

Scott smiled as he kissed Jenny back gently, a few weeks and they'd be back together again. With any luck they would fly by and he'd be kept busy with rescues. He knew what he had to do first though, he had to tell his brothers about the message. Not that he wanted to, there was no proof that his father was alive still. He couldn't build up their hopes just to knock them all down again, it would hurt all of them too much. Maybe he could keep quiet until there was some more information, that would probably be for the best.

So, for the next two weeks, Scott kept quiet about the radio transmission from their father. His brothers hardly got chance to ask him about his break, all being called out not five minutes after Scott had landed. Nobody asked Scott what he had done on his break, so Scott didn't tell anybody.

Keeping the secret was far from easy though, it wasn't in Scott's nature to hide things from his brothers. Every since their father had disappeared, they had agreed to not keep secrets for eachothers safety. Mostly, Scott managed to put it out of his mind, but a simple word or comment would soon have him thinking back to what secret he was keeping from his younger brothers.

"Come on Gords," Virgil was complaining as he hovered over the mediterranean sea, "I wanna go home and get some sleep."

Scott sighed as he turned Thunderbirds One back towards the danger zone, this was their fourth mission in half the number of days and the boys were starting to feel it. Gordon had fixed the oil leak in the ocean but was insisting on checking out something he had spotted on his way down to the deep sea dive.

As always the second youngest had to explore anything that caught his attention, even if it meant keeping grouchy older brothers waiting. "I'll be five minutes, promise, I just thought it looked like something."

Scott sighed and rolled his eyes, "Don't tell me, your 'squid sense' is tingling again?"

Gordon didn't reply, his eyesight instead focussed on where the lights from Thunderbird Four were shining. He grinned when something sparkled back at him. The shape and model was just right. The dull metal shining back at him was exactly what he thought it was, "Hey, I found a plane!"

Virgil's hologram sat straighter, his gaze more focussed, "What?"

"It's a jet," Gordon repeated, "I can't see the code though."

He looked to his controls, twisting and pressing to try and shift the rock. If he could just shift the largest boulder from the tail of the jet he would be able to pull the whole thing out.

Virgil's gaze had shifted from his younger brother hologram, to his oldest brother. Scott's face was frowning just too much for what was going on. He had at least expected his older brother to pass some comment on Gordon's find. The silence stretched on though, Scott's frown deepening as Gordon worked silently. Virgil raised an eyebrow as Scott sighed and shook his head, "Leave it Gords,"

To say that Scott's words confused Virgil was an understatement. Scott had been the most desperate of all the brothers to find their father, yet he was the first to stop Gordon from digging up the jet.

"What?" Gordon paused and frowned, "Why?"

Scott hesitated again and shook his head, "It's not Dads."

"How do you know?" Virgil snapped. Forget Gordon's squid sense, Virgil knew that his older brother wasn't telling them something. Something they weren't going to like.

"Scott," Virgil frowned at his older brother, a quiet warning sneaking into his tone, "What aren't you telling us?"

Scott swallowed and Virgil saw his eyes flick away, avoiding his hard stare. It was a surprise to hear Scott's voice so quiet when he replied, "I'll tell you at home."

Before Virgil could ask, Scott flicked off the comms.

Gordon frowned at Virgil as he took his seat, "What was all that about?"

Virgil shook his head, worried about what had been going through his older brother's mind. He had a feeling that Scott would take off as soon as he got home, using the excuse that Lady Penelope needed a lift home after picking up some paperwork from the island and that he then had to get to . Virgil opened a comm link to his immediate older brother, "John, can you make sure Scott doesn't leave before we get back? The five of us need to have a _private_ chat."

John was quick to nod and Virgil knew he must have heard the whole conversation with Scott. It was Evie that replied though, "I'll watch the system and alert Kayo if anything comes through,"

John smiled and glanced somewhere over his shoulder, "EOS will help you."

"We'll be on the line as soon as we're home," Virgil told John.

"F.A.B."


	23. Chapter 23

"I wish I could come home boys, I wish I could call and tell you I'm safe but it's too dangerous and you have a job to do. I love you all, and I promise to come home as soon as I can."

Scott looked to the floor, avoiding the four accusatory glares from his brothers. He didn't know whose look was the worst, all were equally scathing in their own rights.

John was first to speak, normally the calmest of his brothers, his tone was lower and harder than Scott had ever heard it, "Where and when did you find this?"

Scott shuffled his feet, suddenly feeling very much like a young school boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He was wishing that he had told them sooner, much much sooner. Now, he still had to take Lady Penelope home, and get to his reunion on time.

"Scott." Virgil snapped, taking a step towards the older brother, "Tell us."

"While I was away," Scott swallowed, avoiding Virgil's hard glare, "I got a call from the friend from the Air Force. She'd found a plane marked Tracy Four." He looked to the blue box, hooked up to the sound system, "I got the transmission, but it didn't prove anything. I was going to find more evidence, something more substantial."

He winced as Virgil scoffed and nodded, "Of course, had to be the hero didn't you?"

Gordon stepped to Virgil's side and folded his arms, Scott had to bite back the smile at how similar they looked. He just wished they weren't turning the same glare on him. He'd only been trying to look out for them.

"I…" Scott shook his head, not sure how he could justify himself to them all. It hadn't seemed like such a big deal at the time, "I was just trying to make sure you didn't get hurt."

Alan tutted, "We're all adults now Scott," His voice dropped in disgust, "We can look after ourselves."

He thought Scott had finally gotten that face through his thick skull, but it seemed like some things never changed. Scott would always see the rest of his brothers as children that needed protection from the harsh reality of the world. He'd always try and do things himself before he asked for help.

"I say we _all_ go and look for it," Gordon stated, glancing to Alan, "One's the fastest, we'll be able to catch up quicker."

Scott frowned and shook his head, "We don't have the resources to all go, what if a rescue comes in?" He looked to his watch, "And I'm not going to be here anyway,"

"We'll deal with that if it comes to it." Virgil rolled his eyes, irritated that his brother was more bothered about a party then their father and their job. Arguing wasn't worth his effort though, instead he turned to his two younger brothers, "Why would you take One? "Two has the best scanners," Virgil argued, knowing that he had the most experience with scanning Danger Zones and what to look for, "If anyone can find anything over there it'll be me."

Alan tutted as he folded his arms, "You could at least let us help, Virgil, make us feel at least a little useful. At least we're here, we might as well help," His eyes drifted towards John, so many miles away and so unable to do anything of use. The youngest couldn't help but question how John had missed their father's downed plane. If the Air Force had found it, why hadn't John?

John frowned, feeling singled out by his youngest brother, recognising the look in his eyes. It didn't take the astronaut a moment to realise that Alan resented him for not finding their Dad's plane when the Air Force had seemingly stumbled across it.

"And how do you think _I_ feel?" He snapped, quick to defend himself, "Stuck up here, not able to help you at all? Don't you think I wish there was more I could do from up here? I did everything I could to find that plane!"

Scott scoffed and shook his head, wounding John further, "You go back up there every damn chance you get John, don't deny it."

"Oh sure," John spat, fed up of his older brother always nagging him about one thing or another. It didn't matter where he was, John always had Scott on his back, "Well, it's nice to know you miss me. You know, I actually prefer it up here, saves me from having to listen to your nagging."

Scott was immediately defensive, "I don't nag. All I ever try to do is look out for you guys,"

"Shut up, Scott," Alan spat, the endless phone calls from his brother still fresh in his mind, "You didn't even trust us while you were away for a week!"

Gordon stepped up next to Alan, "Yeah, you think you own us and can boss us around all you want! We're your brothers, Scott, not the damn Air Force,"

John snorted, suddenly agreeing with the brother who had just shot him down, "He just sees us as inferiors, mister high and mighty."

Virgil wouldn't have all three of them ganging up on his closest brother, he may have been mad at Scott too, but the others were talking without thinking.

"Leave off," He snapped, "You're hardly one to talk John, always going on about how easy physics is. Maybe for you, but you don't have to put the rest of us down about it."

"Oh," Alan raised his eyebrows, "So back on Scott's side now, are you?"

Virgil threw a glare at Scott and then one at Alan, "You lot are being out of line."

Scott didn't say anything as his brothers yelled at him, too tried and in too much of a hurry to argue. He didn't have time now to fly Penelope home, he'd be late for the reunion if he did, late for Jenny. If they didn't appreciate him, he didn't have to put up with them, not when he'd had as hard a day as the rest of them.

He looked to John's hologram, his eyes hard and angry, "I just try to look out for you all," He stated as calmly as he could, "You might feel helpless up there, but imagine how I feel when I'm down here and there's nothing I can do to help you."

He turned to his youngest two brothers, raising his eyebrow, daring them to finish their argument that _he_ was in the wrong. Was it really so bad that he was just trying to look after them? Scott didn't know what else he could do so he had done what he thought was right.

Alan matched Scott's stance and kept a steely glare on his oldest brother as he spoke, "We could manage better without you here."

Scott nodded once, having heard enough, "Fine, you lot take charge," He grabbed his wallet from the table, and turned towards the hangars, "See how you manage on your own."

Alan didn't hesitate in yelling after him, "Fine!"

Virgil shook his head at his youngest brother, "Way to go, Alan," He went to chase after Scott but stopped when Gordon huffed, "Sure, as always, you go after Scott. You always go after him, don't worry about us,"

Virgil turned on his younger brother, "Oh shut up! Have you heard yourself?" He spat, "I run around after you more than I do Scott. It would help one hell of a lot if you two just grew up,"

The youngest pair didn't get chance to interrupt as Kayo announced, "Virgil, we need to go, a fishing trawler has capsized,"

Virgil glared at his younger brothers, "One of you just take Penelope home."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Scott sighed as he stepped into the ballroom, still tightening his tie as he had changed on the way to the hotel from the airport. He needed a drink, something strong and expensive. A small smile graced him as he spotted the brunette in a long purple dress, sipping a glass of champagne. She was watching from across the room and her eyes didn't leave him as he strode up to the bar where she was sat.

"Well, if it isn't Scott Tracy," She smiled as he kissed her cheek in greeting.

Scott smirked at the younger woman, "Nice to see you too Jennifer,"

He couldn't help but smile and she elbowed him in the ribs, "Don't call me that,"

Scott couldn't resist teasing, "Alright then, Lakeland,"

Her glare had Scott chuckling quietly, "How are you doing?"

She shrugged, "I'm alright, what about you?" Her hand reached up to his arm, "You seem tense."

Scott shook his head, "Just an argument at home," He admitted, looking back to her closely. Her eyes were heavy still, she still wasn't sleeping, "What about you? You still look tired?"

"Just something playing on my mind," She admitted, playing with her long glass, "From the Air Base fire."

Scott frowned, "Want to talk?"

Jenny sighed and picked up her drink, downing the last of it in a fashion that didn't match her long, dark, evening dress.

"Let's walk." She snapped, turning away from the ballroom and heading out to the gardens at the back of the hotel. Scott smiled to himself, some things never changed.

"So?" Scott asked as they wandered through the moonlit path, "What happened?"

Jenny paused, leaning on the railing that looked out over a small pond, "I'd gone out to do some tinkering," She sighed, "You know what I was like when I couldn't sleep,"

Scott nodded, remembering the times he had ordered her back to bed when he had found her working late several consecutive nights in a row, "You always insisted that everything was fine, that you were alright, how often were you though?"

Jenny turned and frowned at him, suddenly on the defence, "What do you mean? I was always fine."

Scott raised an eyebrow, knowing that she always hid her true feelings. He wasn't sure why she did it, but he knew that it wasn't doing her any good. It hadn't been doing her any good for a long time.

"Sure you were," He commented, "So what happened with International Rescue?"

Jenny snorted and shook her head, "You'll laugh,"

Scott pulled a face and shrugged, "You don't know that, besides, you've laughed at me enough times."

Jenny smiled and looked up to him, "I was probably dreaming, but I was sure I heard you talking to them,"

Scott forced a laugh and nodded, hoping that it didn't ring as false to her as it did to him, "Yeah, you probably were dreaming," He rolled his eyes with a smirk. Glancing around as the final couple left the gazebo on the other side of the pond, he sighed at last and took Jenny in his arms, "Alone at last."

Jenny relaxed in his strong arms, taking comfort from his warmth. A small part of her wanted to cry, but that wasn't allowed in front of another person. No, she could cry later, when she was alone. She frowned as Scott pulled away again with a sigh, "Someone's coming,"

Jenny followed his gaze to where an older man was walking out of the ballroom, his slight limp obvious to her as she tensed up, "That's my Dad." She whispered, to Scott.

Scott frowned as the man neared them and glared at Jenny, "What are you doing out here with him? Don't you think Mister Tracy has enough people to see without you mithering him?"

Scott shook his head and slipped his hand into Jenny's, "It's not a problem, Sir," Scott interrupted, "I invited Jenny out here for a chat,"

The man scoffed and shook his head, "I hope it's about work, she's always complaining about how she feels."

"Dad!" Jenny exclaimed, "That is not true!"

The man nodded, as if her outburst had proved his point, "See what I mean? You can't be so soft Jennifer, you need to be more grounded."

His comment made Jenny snap, "I am perfectly grounded! Why do you do this to me?"

"To make you better at your job." The man snapped back, "I told you, you're too soft for the Air Force, if it weren't for me you would have never gotten accepted into the ranks. You should be thanking me, you silly little girl. Where would you be now without me?"

Jenny could feel herself shaking, but not from the cold breeze. Anger and hurt overwhelmed her, she wanted to lash out at someone, something. But she couldn't. She still refused to cry in front of anyone, that would just prove her father right.

Scott could seen Jenny on the edge of a breakdown and stepped between her and her father, "I think you should leave now, Sir, it seems to me that you don't know your daughter at all. I know this _woman_ , and she is most certainly everything that the air force look for in a captain,"

He shrugged off his jacket and draped it around Jenny's shoulder before guiding her to a side entrance of the hotel and to the elevator. As the doors slid closed, Scott leant down to brush Jenny's cheek, surprised to find it dry and tear free, "Are you alright?"

Her voice gave her away, wobbling as she replied, "I'm fine, I'm used to him,"

Scott shook his head and lifted her chin up to face him, the unshed tears in her eyes shining in the yellow light of the elevator, "You don't have to pretend, Jen, he's wrong, it's okay to show how you feel."

Jenny shook her head, not wanting to cry but equally unable to stop herself. It had been a long time since anyone had told her it was okay to cry. It was even longer since someone had seen that she had been pretending that she was okay.

A sob rose up her throat, pushing its way out of her mouth as she crumpled on the floor, her walls finally surrendering to the bubbling fury that had been eroding them for so long now. For the first time since her family had died, someone was there to hold her. Scott wrapped his warm arms around her, holding her tightly to him as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," She whispered, pulling away as the elevator dinged for their floor. Her sobbing all over his shoulder was probably the last thing Scott Tracy needed.

Scott sighed and shook his head, hearing her apology for what it really was. He couldn't understand how she had gone on so long simply pretending that everything was fine. She must have been a braver person than he was.

"Let's go to my room," He murmured, "We can talk privately then,"

Jenny nodded and silently accepted his help up off of the floor before he guided her to his hotel room.

The pair sat on the bed in the double room, exactly the same as Jenny's was down the hall. She wiped away the mascara that had run around her eyes a little and sighed, "I'm sorry,"

Scott passed her a mug of coffee from the machine and sat next to her, "Stop apologising," He shook his head, "Jenny, like I said in the elevator, it's okay to show how you're feeling," He reached up and tucked a strand of her hair back, "Can't you see? If you feel like this, it's not okay to pretend that everything's alright,"

Jenny looked up to him and wiped her eyes again, "You meant it last time, didn't you?"

Scott smiled softly and nodded, "I'd never say it if I didn't mean it,"

Jenny sighed and leant into his shoulder again, "In that case, I love you too."

Scott smiled and set his mug down to wrap his arms securely around her shoulders, he kissed the top of her head as she sniffled again, "It's okay Jen, you can cry all you want," He smiled and whispered quietly, "I've grown up with four brothers, trust me, I've seen worse."

Jenny laughed and leant into him again, "Thank you Scott."

He sighed and rubbed her arm, knowing he had to tell her the truth about the family business "Remember when you asked me why I left the air force?"

Jenny frowned but nodded, "You said to join the family business, Tracy Enterprises?"

Scott smiled as her words formed a question but knew he had to shake his head, "Yeah, but, Tracy Enterprises, isn't our only family business."

She frowned and pulled back, "Oh?"

Scott took her hand and opened his mouth to explain, but the words didn't have chance to form as the pair were blasted off of the bed and into the wall at the other side of the room. Dust and plasterboard showered them, a large chunk of ceiling cracking above them as Scott's head lolled back against his shoulder and Jenny slumped forward.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

"Thank you for the lift back Gordon," Penelope smiled to the red haired boy as he set her bag down in the lounge, "Would you like a drink before you head back?"

Gordon nodded quickly, not ready to return home. There'd only be more arguing between his brothers. He hadn't realised that they found him so unbearably annoying, otherwise he would have left a long time ago. He'd be staying away for as long as possible now, "If it's not too much trouble,"

Penelope laughed and shook her head, "After you've flown me halfway around the world? Not at all,"

The two took a seat on the couch, missing the clatter of the gas cannister that fell through the letterbox as they went.

Alan looked up as Virgil and Kayo came up on the comms, "We're over the danger zone now, preparing to lower the rescue platform,"

Alan sighed and leant back on the sofa, looking back to the TV as he channel hopped. His voice only had a tiny twinge of bitterness in it when he replied, "F-A-B, Thunderbird Two,"

"Don't wait up!" Kayo called quietly, trying to cheer him up.

He groaned internally as his Grandma and Brains came back from their shopping trip, "Where is everyone?"

"Out," Alan snapped, skipping through the channels, not really paying any attention. Receiving a tap in the upside of his head quickly changed his attitude, "I'll have less of that young man,"

He sighed and looked up to his Grandma, "Sorry, we've all just had an argument while you were out."

As Grandma opened her mouth to reply, Brains interrupted, "Isn't that the hotel Scott's reunion is at?"

Alan snapped out of his mood and looked to the TV, "Yeah," He turned the volume up and sat forward to listen to what the reporter was saying, "A call was sent out to International Rescue just now but we are yet to hear if they are on their way. At the Hotel tonight were several functions, including an Air Force reunion party,"

Alan was already up and reaching out to the comms, his heart frozen in fear as he looked to the crumbling ruins of the hotel. Scott had been somewhere in there. They had to find him, to make sure he was alright.

 _Why did you yell? He was only trying to look after us!_ He yelled at himself as he called for his next brother, "John! John, come in!"

There was no response.

Grandma wrapped an arm around Alan's shoulder, "It's late," She reasoned, "Maybe they've just gone to bed?"

Alan shook his head, looking back up to the TV screen, "No," He whispered, "We were all arguing, I yelled at John and we yelled at Scott, and now..." He looked to his Grandmother and swallowed hard unable to help the fear that was building in his stomach, "The Hood is coming for us."

John sighed as Evie kissed his cheek, "None of them meant it,"

"I shouldn't have snapped," John sighed as he leant into her, "I just feel so helpless sometimes and they don't understand."

He gained comfort from Evie's hand on his cheek, "It'll be alright, leave it for tonight and you can all talk in the morning,"

The couple pulled away as a new call came in, "Calling International Rescue! The Rutherford Hotel in central New York had collapsed, we need your help!"

John froze, his arm halfway to the comms button as he looked to Evie, "That's where Scott's…"

Evie reached forward and pressed the button, quickly taking control as she also remembered the hotel name, "This is International Rescue, we'll have someone with-"

"International Rescue? Come in International Rescue!"

"John! John, come in!"

John frowned at Alan's panic. He tried on his wrist communicator, all anger at his brothers set aside temporarily, "Alan? Can you hear me kid?"

He looked to Evie in concern when Alan called out again, "They can't hear us,"

John's own fear shot through him as a red warning light flashed on above them and a too familiar mechanical voice announced, "Warning, impact imminent."

Knowing the situation too well, John grabbed Evie's arm, "Suit up, now!" He ordered, knowing that they only had seconds, he looked to EOS's unit and snapped, "EOS, isolate yourself to-" his mind blanked, where could the AI hide from the blast? She was a part of Thunderbird Five itself.

"Don't worry John," Even in an emergency her voice was still so calm, "I'll isolate myself to the docking bay." John nodded to the unit, "Good luck EOS."

Following his partner through the hatch, he slammed the emergency lock down button that was meant to give the satellite some extra structural support, before grabbing his own helmet half a second before the blast hit.

Alan paced as Brains typed on the computer, trying to cancel out whatever it was the Hood had done to their systems. Why had he been such an idiot about it? Now his brothers were scattered all over the world and the Hood was starting his attack.

He paused as the voice he dreaded filled the tense silence, "Hello, again, Alan."

Alan swallowed and looked to Brains and Grandma, both had also frozen in place, waiting to hear what their enemy had to say.

"By now, I'm sure you must be worried about your brothers?" There was a short pause where Alan's nails dug into his palms until it hurt, "You see, Alan, I was too kind to you the last time we met. I made things too easy for you, you only had to save your family from one of your little tin cans,"

Alan was glad his brothers and Kayo weren't able to hear the transmission, or else the Hood would already be dead. Insulting their equipment like that.

Alan didn't have time to think about that though, as he realised what the Hood was saying to him. His family was scattered all over the place. Scott in New York, Gordon in London, John in space. He wasn't even sure where Virgil and Kayo were.

"So, Alan," The Hood continued, "Which brothers are you going to choose to save? I'm sure you won't have time to save them all," Alan took a sharp breath in as the voice turned darker, somehow more evil than it had sounded before, "Oh, and I wouldn't bother going out of orbit, you can't save them all Alan."

As the transmission cut out Alan nodded to Brains, "Get him out of the systems, I don't care what you have to do,"

Grandma looked to him, "Alan, what are you doing?"

Alan looked up to the windows, "Gordon has Tracy Two in London, and I don't have a clue where Virgil and Kayo are. So, while Brains is working on that, I might as well go and find out,"

He saw the tears in his Grandma's eyes, "Bring them home Alan," She whispered, "Please?"

It only took him two steps to be able to wrap his arms around her, "I'm going to do everything I can, Grandma, I promise."

John groaned as he rolled his neck, "Ouch," He lifted a hand to his helmet as his vision refocused. His first thought jumped to his partner, she had been pressed against him when the blast hit. He had tried to shield her from the impact. Yet she was nowhere near him.

"Evie?"

There was a quiet gasp from the speaker in his helmet, and then a hiss of pain. John turned, trying to work out where the noise was coming from. He winced as he pushed away from the ladder he had been thrown against. His shoulder was stiff, bruised at best. It didn't matter though, he had to find Evie.

"Evie?" John called out again, lifting some debris out of his way. Artificial gravity had come into effect, weighing everything down, making John's efforts ten times harder. His attention was drawn to a beam that something was lifting. As cautiously as he could, John scrambled over to it and helped shift it.

Evie lay back in relief as the weight shifted from her aching ribs. Every breath took far too much effort for her liking. She could hear John calling her through the helmet, but knew talking would hurt too much.

"Evie," She felt his hand on hers, a gentle squeeze, "Come on, talk to me."

Her heavy eyes flicked open, instantly meeting John's blue ones. He'd taken his helmet off. The life support systems must have stabilised the section they were in.

A few more blinks was all it seemed to take for Evie to get her head straight. Her eyes flicked back to John's as he carefully removed her helmet. She'd done worse, a few bruised ribs wasn't going to kill her.

"I've bruised my ribs," She murmured as she leant back again, her eyes catching the red bleaching John's blue suit, "Your arm."

John followed her gaze and shook his head, "Just a cut." He stood and held a hand out to her, "We'll get some painkillers and bind your-"

"Thunderbird Five, if you can hear me, I'm on final approach," Alan's voice caught John off guard, it hadn't been that long since the blast, how was he already here? Especially since the argument. John suddenly hated himself for snapping even more when his youngest brother's voice broke, "Johnny, please? Are you there?"

John held Evie tightly as he held back his own sob, he couldn't cry right now. He needed to be strong like Scott normally was. He checked his watch and was relieved when Alan's hologram appeared in front of him, "Allie, it's okay, I'm alright."

Evie swallowed hard as Alan sobbed, giving up on hiding his own tears born from fear and worry, "John. John, it's the Hood again, Scott's hotel. God, John I'm so sorry for yelling at you, John I-"

John cut him off, "It's alright, I know about the hotel, I tried to call you. Evie and I are fine,"

"The Hood left a message," Alan whispered with a quiet sniff, making John's heart twist. Of all the nights, why did it have to be this one that they all fell out?

"The Hood's coming after all of us," Alan told his brother, "He's going to try and..."

As Alan trailed off John and Evie shared a look, if the Hood was going after their whole family, that meant that Alan would have had to have chosen who to come after. There was a quiet sniff over the comms, making John sigh, "Alan?"

"He said I'd be too late John," He whispered, "He said that I shouldn't bother coming up here,"

John flicked the switch to start the docking system, "It's okay Alan, he was wrong." John took a sharp breath, channeling his inner Scott, "Now, what are we going to do?"

Alan looked to his systems, "I can't get in touch with anyone,"

 _John's fine, he's alive._ Alan reminded himself as the docking lights turned green, announcing that he was locked onto 'Five. The youngest swallowed and thought to his other brothers, trying to work out who would be worst off next. Scott would have emergency services with him, working to get people out. Virgil and Kayo weren't responding from 'Two, but Alan couldn't work out what trouble they could have gotten into when they had simply needed to right the trawler and rescue the workers. As for Gordon, he wasn't responding either and he'd only gone to drop Lady Penelope at home.

His head snapped up as he felt a hand on his shoulder, "It's alright, Sprout, we'll work it out,"

Alan looked forward, to the little planet they called home, trying to reassure himself that his brothers would be okay, "I hope so."


	26. Chapter 26

Gordon groaned as he sat up in the darkened room, his head ached like a hangover from hell. _I thought I had coffee with Penny?_ He asked himself before remembering just what had happened. The sleeping gas, watching Lady Penelope drop her cup and saucer to the floor before slumping in her seat.

Gordon looked down when he realised he was sat in a puddle, pulling a face, "I didn't do that, did I?"

From the slither of light coming from a window above him, Gordon could see that the whole floor had a few inches of water covering it. Nope, he hadn't been the one to do that, he was sure. But he could see that the water was slowly rising, getting an inch higher every few minutes that he sat and watched it. The redhead groaned again and rested his head back against the wall, "This isn't good."

* * *

Kayo held her arm to her chest, how had a rescue gone so wrong? After rescuing the fishing trawler, there had been another call to an abandoned mine a couple of miles away. Both Kayo and Virgil had gone into the mine, only to have it collapse right on top of them. Well, almost right on top of them.

Kayo looked up to the only support beam still standing, the only thing stopping her and Virgil from getting crushed. It wouldn't last forever though, not with so much weight bearing down on it.

"Still nothing," Virgil sighed, having failed to get a connection on comms, "I don't get it, we're not that far under and there's nothing to disrupt them," He rolled his shoulders and shook his head, "I bet they're all just being immature and ignoring me."

Kayo shook her head, "You might have fallen out, but they're not that stupid." She sighed, a feeling of dread had settled in her stomach a while ago, "I don't think there were any kids here to rescue Virgil," She told him, "I think the Hood is making his moves."

Virgil shook his head, not wanting to believe it. Not when he and his brothers had been at each others throats earlier. He felt guilty for shouting at his brothers, knowing none of them had really meant to upset the others. The middle son didn't want to think about how vulnerable everyone was when they were all so far apart.

He looked to Kayo's arm that she was holding to her chest, using it as a distraction to his worries, "Let me see to that," He told her, "I can tape it up,"

Kayo glanced to her arm and nodded, "It feels broken,"

He smiled as she knelt next to him, "How many bones have you actually ever broken?"

Kayo laughed and shook her head, "You're in charge of all the medical notes,"

"Just making conversation," Virgil rolled his eyes as he pulled a medipack from his bag, "Or are we going to sit in silence until someone gets here?"

Kayo smirked and shook her head, "I was hoping to find out what's going on with you all?"

Virgil sighed as he pulled the tape from his kit, "Really?" He said as he turned back to her and gingerly took her wrist, "I don't have a clue."

Kayo frowned, rightfully so in Virgil's opinion. He and his brothers hardly ever fell out, and when they did it was never over trivial matters. They had all just snapped at each other, picking on tiny matters that weren't important. Why though? Virgil had never been truly irritated by Gordon's pranks. His immediate younger brother could be annoying at times, but he kept everyone's spirits high on a rough day. He didn't run around after them like he made out he did, it was just something he had said in the heat of the moment.

"We all just snapped," Virgil sighed with a shake of his head, "Scott didn't tell us something, and we all found out."

Kayo nodded, understanding flooding her features as she looked up to the older man, "You're all tired, five missions in two days has got to be a record. That won't have helped."

Virgil looked up in realisation, his heart freezing over at the sound of a low, cat like voice,

"Hello, Tanusha, by now I'm sure you've worked out what's going on," Kayo shuddered slightly at the voice, knowing what it meant, "Those, _boys,_ you call brothers, are finally going to fall. This time, I have made sure there is nobody to rescue the rescuers."

Virgil and Kayo shared a worried look, both reaching to their watches again, "Alan, John, come in."

Kayo closed her eyes, praying that Alan would hear her, "Where are you Alan?"

A small gasp escaped her lips as the space was lit up with a hologram, "I'm on Thunderbird Three, where are you?"

Virgil frowned, confused as to why Alan wasn't at base, "Did another call come in?"

Both Virgil's and Kayo's fears were worsened when John and Evie appeared over Alan's shoulders. Virgil's eyes were instantly drawn to the patch of red seeping through a white bandage bulging on John's arm. Any remaining anger dissipated into the air, concern for his brothers pushing it out and replacing it.

"Are you okay?"

John looked to his arm and nodded, his eyes slightly softer as he glanced to Alan, "The Hood blew up Five. We managed to get out of the main impact zone but, it's not good."

Alan was watching the pair in the dark space, "Where are you two?"

Kayo sighed and explained, "We received another signal near to where we dropped off the fishermen," She winced as Virgil tightened the strap on her arm, "We came down the mine and it collapsed around us."

Alan was watching his partner closely, he hadn't missed her wince when his brother had touched her arm, "What's wrong with-"

He smiled as Kayo rolled her eyes, knowing not to believe whatever she said next, "It's fine, don't worry."

Both Alan and John laughed as Virgil corrected, "She broke it."

Alan didn't fuss though, knowing better than to smother Kayo in the way Scott smothered him. His eyes met hers and saw the sparkle in them, she was already angry and Alan didn't dare make it worse.

"How on earth do you turn on the Holograms in this thing?"

All five people in the conversation looked to each other in confusion. Each look meeting another with a frown. John eventually leant forward and asked, "Grandma? Where are you?"

It was Kayo's face that dropped when grandma replied somewhat innocently, "Thunderbird S."

John nodded once, his face not quite showing understanding over the concern that was etched there, "Okay. Why?"

"Do you really think I'm going to sit at home knitting while some psychopath is trying to kill my Grandsons?" John tried to stifle a laugh at the picture in his head of Grandma hitting the Hood over the head with her handbag. He shook his head and sighed, "Okay then. Has anyone heard from Gordon or Scott?"

Silence came the reply, and everybody's stomach filled with dread.

Having gotten used to quick thinking in the field on previous rescues, Virgil was quick to suggest, "We're close to New York, if Grandma can come and configure the pod I can remote control it down to us."

Grandma nodded to him, "F.A.B kid."

Virgil locked eyes with Alan and John, all previous disagreements forgotten, "You find Gords."

Both brothers nodded, John confirming, "We'll meet you in New York when we have."

"F.A.B."

Alan looked to Kayo, checking over that she was really okay. He had a feeling that stress could be getting to her, knowing that it was _her_ uncle trying to kill his family.

"You're okay, aren't you Kay?" He checked quietly as the others turned away, "You know we don't pin any of this on you?"

Kayo snorted and glanced away with a sigh, "That's the reason he's after you guys," She murmured, "Because I'm on your side."

Alan shook his head, "You know that's not true, and so do we."

"Okay," Kayo whispered, her voice so soft it didn't sound like Kayo to the others. That was the sign for Alan though, the sign that things were getting to her despite what she insisted.

"I love you," Alan murmured, "Be careful."

Kayo smiled and nodded in return, some of her usual manner having sparked back, "Yeah, you too."

John crouched in front of Evie and took the straps for her seat harness, tightening them as much as he could without hurting her. He knew from experience that reentry into earth's atmosphere made any injury hurt ten times more than it did originally. Now, he wished there was something he could do to help Evie get past that.

"This is going to hurt your ribs," He murmured softly as he took her hands, "I wish-"

Evie was shaking her head at him, a tired smile gracing her lips and she squeezed his hands in return, "I know, there's nothing you can do."

John smiled softly in return, "It'll be over as quick as possible," He sighed and glanced to Alan, "Right?"

Alan nodded without looking back, "Yeah, so buckle in."

John took his seat and squeezed Evie's hand once more, the couple shared a look as the rocket began to shake. All three occupants jumped at the sweet childlike voice, "You know Alan, it would be a lot more stable if you used the thrusters on seventy-five percent."

"EOS?" Evie frowned, "But-"

"I rooted myself into Thunderbird Three while she was docked. All emergency signals have been rerouted to Tracy Island." John had to admit, the AI sounded quite pleased with herself.

Alan however wasn't quite so pleased, "So you took over my 'Bird?"

"Not really Alan," John smiled as the voice made some lights flash on the controls, "I just took residence in a little corner so I didn't get lost if something happened on Thunderbird Five."

John nodded, proud that the AI had managed to work out the best way to preserve herself, without trying to destroy something or someone. It was quite a wonder how much things had changed since their father had disappeared. John couldn't help but question how things would change if their father did ever return.

 _One hurdle at a time John._ The astronaut told himself, _First, let's find Gordy._


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Gordon looked up to the tiny window of the basement, trying to work out of it would shift if he tried to force it open. To be able to force it open though, he would need to be able to reach it, and to be able to reach it would mean being able to get free from the chain that attached his ankle to the floor. By his calculations, he would be able to reach the ceiling of the room, but would just be short of reaching the window and that was even if he could manage to tread water with the weight of the chain.

The water was up to his chin now, and rising quickly.

"How ironic," He said to himself, "You're going to be killed by your best friend, Gordon,"

He was quick to shake the thought from his head though, refusing to believe that his brothers would just leave him to die. Taking a gulp of air in as the water reached his mouth, he closed his eyes, _Please, guys, hurry!_

As his lungs began to ache from the lack of air, Gordon screwed his eyes shut. The inky blackness consuming him as he fought with consciousness. If he could just wait a little longer, he knew one of his brothers would get there. They always did. From the first time Gordon had fallen in the pool, to the time he had last gotten cramp whilst swimming, one of his brothers had always been there to drag him for the water before anything bad happened. He refused to believe that this time would be any different to that.

"Wake up you stupid fish!" Someone yelled, confusing Gordon. When had the water vanished? When had he started breathing again? When had he started coughing?

Exhausted and breathless, Gordon leant back against his only little brother's shoulder. They were sat on the steps that lead down into the basement, Gordon still gasping for breath as Alan held him securely.

"I changed my mind," Gordon muttered, letting his eyes drift closed, "Today was not a fish day."

Alan laughed and hugged his brother tighter, squeezing Gordon just a little too tightly, earning a, "Geroff," In response.

"Gordon." John sighed in relief when he found his two youngest brothers sat on the steps to the basement of Lady Penelope's mansion. The older of the two was obviously breathless and pale compared to his usual tanned complexion. John reached out to help pull Gordon up into the hallway, wrapping a blanket from Thunderbird Three around his shoulders. Evie was there with him, offering Gordon some extra oxygen to help with his breathing.

"Knew… you… et… ere," Gordon mumbled as he shivered slightly.

John shook his head, trying to ignore that fact the Gordon had almost drowned. He rubbed the swimmers broad shoulders, "I thought you were meant to be some sort of fish?"

Alan laughed as Gordon shook his head, "I didn't plan on today being a fish day."

Evie rested a hand on John's shoulder, "We need to get to New York,"

John's face fell as he nodded to her, "Yeah," He shifted to help Gordon up, "Come on, Scott's in trouble."

Gordon's face clouded over as he looked between the two others. Evie could see that he wasn't sure if he should be concerned or impassive. She knew what his attitude would be once he knew, but it was making him listen to the facts that could be a problem. Gordon was as stubborn as the rest of them, so when Scott and Virgil had turned on him, she knew he wouldn't be quick to forgive them. Not in normal circumstances anyway.

She wasn't sure it it was for the best or worst that she blurted out the situation, "Scott's hotel was blown up, we've not been able to get hold of him since. It's the Hood. He blew up Five and he did this to you." She folded her arms, standing firm as Gordon straightened his stance to match hers, "You might be mad with him, but the idiot is still your brother and he still needs help."

She smiled as Gordon nodded, "Why aren't we on our way then?"

Scott coughed, he could feel the dust caking the inside of his throat. His head throbbed and his eyes stung. There was still a ringing in his ears from the explosion, leaving his head spinning. As he pushed himself up, something pulled in Scott's back making him wince and stumble forward. He sighed in relief when the dark haired woman in the dark purple dress stirred, "Scott?"

He held a hand out to her, "Are you okay?"

Jenny stretched each of her legs, arms, and then her back, in turn before nodding, "Yeah, just my head is a little sore."

She accepted Scott's hand up and pretended to ignore his wince as he took some of her weight. Glancing over him, he seemed to look okay, perhaps a little pale but that could easily be put down to the proximity of the explosion.

"We need to get out of here."

As she went to open the door, Scott stopped her, pulling her back into the mangled room. She frowned at him, not understanding why he would delay in getting out of the bomb site.

"Scott?"

He sighed and reached out to the stack of drawers Jenny had been thrown against, pulling the second drawer open and routing around in it while he spoke. Jenny would find out sooner rather than later. Scott didn't doubt that, despite their argument, his brothers would already be on their way.

"You didn't imagine things that night at the Air Base." He stated, looking up to Jenny as his hand closed around the comms unit, "I was there."

He watched Jenny carefully as she shook her head, "But, how? It was…" She trailed off and looked over him again, "The family business."

Scott nodded and took out the comms unit, "I would have told you," He admitted quietly as he fastened the unit to his wrist, "But we can't risk people knowing who we are."

He smiled a little as Jenny laughed and shook her head, "God, this can't be real. How hard did I hit my head?"

Scott grabbed her wrist as she turned away again, pulling her into his chest and holding her there, "Trust me, this is one hundred percent real."

Jenny laughed again and leant up as Scott bowed his head. His grip on her wrist loosened as her hands held his shoulders tightly, her head suddenly spinning all over again. In her chest, her heart was thudding so loudly, she was sure Scott could hear it. For the first time in years, she felt like the lovesick schoolgirl, crushing over Jeff Tracy's oldest son like so many other girls of a similar age.

She laughed again as he pulled away, still not believing that Scott Tracy was kissing _her_ and was part of International rescue. Scott raised an eyebrow at her, making her giggle more, "What?"

He shook his head, "I just thought you'd be mad that I didn't tell you."

Jenny shrugged with a smirk, not really caring for the time being, "What's done is done."

Scott nodded and keyed acode into his comms, "I need to call my brothers."

"Scott, to Thunderbird Five. John, are you there?" Scot took a sharp breath in, praying that his brothers weren't mad enough with him to ignore his calls.

"Where the hell have you been!?" Virgil yelled down the line, "Do you-"

He was cut off by Kayo, "Scott, it's the Hood."

Scott frowned, resolving their argument would have to wait. If the Hood had done this, what was to say that he wasn't still about.

"Where are the others?"

John's voice replied this time, "We're on our way over from London. The Hood blew up Five, almost drowned Gordon, and almost crushed Virgil and Kayo."

"And left a rather chilling message for Alan and I."

Scott's jaw almost dropped, "Grandma?"

He ignored Virgil's chuckle, "Well, someone had to come and pick Kayo and I up."

Scott shook his head, trying to get all the information through the ringing still in his ears. He looked up as Jenny rested a hand on his shoulder in reassurance, giving a slight nod Scott turned back to the hologram, "What about Lady Penelope?"

"I'm here Scott," The genteel voice responded too quickly, "I was just trying to get through to you, the Hood had me in one of the offices at Tracy Towers. Is Gordon alright?"

Alan explained quickly to her what had happened while Scott thought through everything again. He was trying to work out why the Hood would do such things to him and his brothers, only to drag penelope halfway across the world. It hardly made any sense to him.

Somewhere in his throbbing head, his father's message replayed, slotting the missing piece into the puzzle.

"Of course," Scott whispered, "He's using us as bait."

This froze the ongoing conversation of his brothers, even Jenny frowned at Scott in concern as they all asked the same question, "What?"

"The hood never intended to kill us, just to put us in harms way so we were preoccupied," Scott thought again, glancing to each of the holograms, "He only wanted to potentially kill Penelope, put her in the most danger."

Jenny shook her head, "Why?"

The blonde aristocrat had also finished the jigsaw, "To lure your father from hiding? The original blueprints for the pods are in the basement of Tracy Towers, only accessible by him, or one of you boys."

Scott nodded, "Exactly. I bet Dad's on his way there now."

"He's going to fall right into the Hood's trap." Alan stated, "We have to stop him."

Scott was already turning towards the door, "Oh, we will."

"Scott," Virgil called as his older brother reached up to cut the link. Scott paused and looked directly to his middle brother.

"Be careful, until we get there."

Scott sighed and looked to Jenny, he didn't want to be mad at his brothers. He didn't know the whole story, but he was sure he had come close to losing more than one of them. Grudges were the last thing they needed.

"We're all tired and stressed," He murmured, "I shouldn't have kept the recording from you all, I'm sorry."

The brothers all nodded, John being the first to answer, "I'm sorry too, you know I didn't mean anything I said."

"Yeah," Alan and Gordon said at the same time, "Us too."

Content that there was no longer an issue between any of them, Scott nodded and smiled, "Now, hurry up and get over here. I've got someone I'd like you to meet."

There was a chorus of "F-A-B" before the comms cut out, Scott smiled to Jenny and took her hand, "Let's go and find my Dad."


	28. Chapter 28

Once they had managed to push past the reporters and fire crews, Scott pulled Jenny in the general direction of Tracy Towers. Lady Penelope met them on the steps into Tracy Towers, "Are you alright, Penelope?"

The blonde lady nodded, "I'm fine Scott," She glanced to the woman following him closely, her long evening dress ruined with dust and dirt from the explosion, "And who's this?"

Scott smiled to Jenny, "Jenny, this is Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward."

Jenny curtsies as she had been taught, "Jennifer Lakeland, nice to meet you."

Scott glanced to the building behind them, "You two stay here, don't let anyone in or out,"

Both women nodded as Scott turned to head into the building.

It was easy enough to find the Hood. As Lady Penelope had pointed out, some of the original blueprints for Thunderbird Two's Pods were securely stored. It was hardly a surprise for Scott when he found the man in question stood in the middle of the Tracy family vault. By the look on the Hood's face though, he was surprised to see Scott.

"Expecting someone else were you?" Scott raised an eyebrow as he took a defensive stance opposite the man that had hurt his brothers.

The Hood strode to the side, slowly making his way around Scott, "Yes, but you can do the job just as well."

Scott laughed, and spat, "You're not getting the blueprints."

He shifted back, trying to block the Hood from taking his place by the only entrance. Scott knew by heart that it was the most advantageous place to be, to give that up to the enemy could make or break the fight.

He could see the Hood thinking, his brow all scrunched up as he tried to work out his new line of attack. Scott shifted, trying to predict the next move his opposition would make.

"Where are those brothers of yours Scott? Have you heard from them recently?"

Scott smirked and nodded his head, "You didn't kill anyone Hood, and we'll all be here right on time."

The Hood raised his eyebrow, "On time for what exactly?" His frown turned to a grin as he watched Scott carefully, "To watch you get crushed?"

Scott was quick to follow the Hood's line of sight to a crack in the ceiling. A crack that was quickly making it's way towards him.

"Scott move!" A brother yelled at him, snapping Scott from his shock just in time to dive away as the roof caved in on the very spot had had been standing. He didn't land as he expected though. Instead, Scott found himself being flung across the room and into the far wall, cracking his head, and then the rest of his body against the solid concrete.

Scott tried not to wince as his brothers helped him to his feet, his chest ached and his ankle throbbed more than it had before.

"I'm alright," He whispered, his anger at them completely doused by the simple relief that they were all okay.

Virgil and John didn't let him go though, they gripped the material of his jacket at his shoulders, holding him in place as the five of them looked to the Hood. For once he didn't reject the help, knowing that he couldn't hold himself up for long after the exhaustion that came with the days events. He'd caused enough trouble between their family today, he wasn't about to start another argument. Apologies would have to wait though, they had the Hood to deal with now.

"You are not going to rip this family apart," Alan was saying, "You can't hurt us more than you already have,"

The Hood laughed lowly, "Maybe I can't. But what would it feel like to be betrayed by your own father?"

Not buying what their enemy was saying, the brothers shook their heads, "He wouldn't,"

Almost innocently, the Hood looked to their side, "Oh really?"

In the shadows of the vault, a pale, tired man leant against the wall for support. His blue eyes shining darkly in the low light, "Leave my son's alone, none of this is their fault."

Scott, Virgil, and John gripped eachothers shoulders tighter. Each now supporting the other two. Alan and Gordon looked to each other, both thinking the other would have an answer.

Scott met his father's eyes and gave the slightest of nods, they were on the same side. Any discussion on where he had been would have to wait, the Hood was their priority now. He shifted between his brothers as their father stepped out between his son's and the Hood.

"You have caused enough pain for my family, we have done nothing to you."

The Hood nodded once as the brothers caught sight of another person in the shadow, "No, but you have something of mine."

Kayo's fists clenched as she glared at the back of the Hood's bald head, "I _do not_ belong to anyone." She growled, "Least of all, _you._ "

"Now, Tanusha, is that any way to talk to me?"

Kayo smiled as the Hood's stance fell, he had been counting on the brothers still not knowing. He had wanted to turn them against each other, now his plan had failed he didn't know what to do.

Kayo didn't take her eyes off of the Hood as she walked around to meet Alan and Gordon, "They know, _uncle._ " She smirked as his face scrunched into a glare, "So, you can try to tear us apart all you want, but you won't."

Scott watched the Hood's reaction carefully, trying to second guess his next move so he didn't get away. He'd forgotten the first rule of dealing with the Hood though, don't make eye contact.

It only took a split second for the pressure in his head to quadruple, a thousand needles pressing on the inside of his skull. His weight fell forward, but he was caught by his brothers and held up as he cried out in pain.

Kayo was quick to react, also meeting the Hood's eyes and concentrating everything she could on crippling him. He was strong though, and she hadn't used her power in too long. The most she could manage was to distract him long enough to momentarily relieve Scott.

Kayo wasn't a one trick dog though, if she couldn't beat the Hood one way, she would surely find another. Shifting her weight onto one foot, Kayo swung her other foot up towards the Hood's head. It didn't surprise her when he caught her foot, without even taking his eyes off of Scott. Kayo was painfully aware of the pain the oldest brother was in and that was perhaps what gave her the strength to pull her foot out of the Hood's grip. Before she could take another swing, his gaze turned, flashing from Scott to Gordon, sending the swimmer across the room and into the wall. Kayo winced for him as his head cracked against the hard stone she had to admire him though for not uttering a single groan as he fell to the floor.

"You'll regret that." She growled to the Hood, taking up a defensive position as Jeff ran to his son.

The Hood scoffed and looked to the recovering redhead across the room, "I don't think so."

Before anyone could react, both Jeff and Gordon flew into the rest of their family.

Like pins at a bowling alley, the boys all fell backwards onto one another. Each groaned in complaint as they hit their heads and backs. Alan went to spring back up as the footsteps faded, but was held back by his father, "We're not fit to win this battle."

Scott winced as he pulled himself upright, "Dad's right Alan, let him go, this time."

Gordon leant into his oldest brother's side, finally letting out the groan Kayo had been waiting to hear, "I ache."

John snorted and threw a glance at his brother, "Don't we all?"

"I don't know what you're all complaining about," Their father grumbled, "You're spring chi-"

"Don't mention chickens," Alan muttered, "Otherwise you'll activate Smother Hen,"

Four of the five brothers, and Kayo, laughed quietly with their father as Scott scowled halfheartedly at them. He didn't have it in him to argue, all he cared was that his brothers and father were safe. His Dad was back. Yet, he wasn't mad. Scott had thought he would hold some form of resentment to his father, but all he felt was the relief that he was there. Besides, he had heard the tape, his father had reason enough to have left.

Several sets of hurried footsteps could be heard nearing the vault,

"Jeff!" A familiar, but unexpected voice called, running footsteps nearing the vault, "Jeff, it's the-" She was cut off by two other voices calling, "John!" "Scott!"

Four women paused on the second floor balcony, all relaxing when they spotted the boys.

"Casey." Scott stated, once he had smiled to jen in reassurance, "What are you-" He looked to his father and raised an eyebrow, "The GDF knew?"

Colonel Casey smiled, leaning more casually against the railings as she watched the boys, "We make it our business to know, Scott."

Evie frowned as she caught sight of the blood on Scott's shirt, "Are you all right?"

The five boys, Kayo, and Jeff all looked about themselves, each shrugging in turn. John smiled in reassurance to her, "We'll be fine, as long as Grandma-"

"Jefferson Tracy!" A shout came right on cue making everyone groan.

"As long as Grandma doesn't see us," Alan finished, "I'd run, but I ache too much,"

The others all laughed softly and then sighed as Grandma continued, "Where on Gods earth have you been!? You could have called and told us you were safe! What was wrong with a good old fashioned letter, young man?"

Gordon and Alan snorted at the use of young in her sentence, sharing a cheeky look and earning an elbow from their oldest two brothers.

"Nice to see you too, Mother," Jeff sighed, he opened his mouth to say more but was cut off again by his mother, "And _you_ Scott Carpenter," She turned to the woman in the evening dress, "Who is this lovely young lady?"

Scott laughed and looked over Jenny as her cheeks flushed red, "I think we should discuss the whole story at home."

He shifted to stand up, wincing as he reached his hand to his head, a dizzy spell overcoming him. Every inch of his body ached, if not from the earlier explosion, then from being thrown about now by the Hood. He lay back again closing his eyes for a moment.

The next time he opened them, someone was forcing him upright and Virgil was snapping his fingers in front of Scott. The voices around him were muffled, as if Scott was under water and they were yelling to him from the surface. He searched the concerned faces, looking for one in particular, he had to find her, tell her the whole story. Jenny needed him, she wasn't as bold and strong as she always made out to be. The back was creeping in though, taking away his peripheral vision, blocking out whoever was at his sides.

His words didn't want to come, no matter how hard he tried to force out the one word, "Jen."

Her hand was there though, gently holding his, stroking her thumb across his palm. It took everything in him to focus on her three words, "I'm here Scott."


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Evie rubbed Jenny's shoulders as she collapsed into the chair by Scott's bed and sobbed into the sheets. She really felt for the woman from the air force, she'd been thrust into it all head first without any warning. Her long purple evening dress was ruined and Evie couldn't imagine it being comfortable, "You've had a long day," Evie murmured as she crouched down, "Don't you want to change?"

Jenny looked up and wiped her eyes, the lady with the auburn hair had stayed with her ever since they had gotten Scott stable. Evie, she had introduced herself as outside of Tracy Towers, John's girlfriend. She'd treated Scott, taken out the shard of glass that had embedded itself an inch from his spine. Evie had insisted to Jenny that he'd be fine, told her that it was okay to be overwhelmed and to cry.

So, if Evie was suggesting that Jenny changed, she would trust her that Scott would be okay for the length of time it took her.

"We're about the same size," Evie murmured as she stood up, "You can borrow some of my things for tonight, I'm sure Kayo won't mind nipping back to your place to get some things."

Jenny had to smile and shake her head at the way Evie was talking, "You make it sound like we've known each other forever."

Evie smiled as she checked the flow of blood into the vein in Scott's arm, "Until you got here, I was the newby. The boys and Kayo were great, but they didn't see things from my point of view,"

She turned back to Evie and held a hand out, "Besides, the boys are a bit shell shocked themselves, what with their Dad back and this happening to Sott. They're not going to be very good hosts for the time being."

Evie looked around as the door to the infirmary opened and Virgil stepped in, "How-"

"The same as he was ten minutes ago when I came and told you." Evie tutted, "I'd tell you if it had changed."

She sighed as Virgil looked to Jenny, something in her hoping that he was going to make her feel welcome rather than like she was hogging Scott.

"He's a fighter Jenny," He murmured, stepping forward to sit on the bed by Scott's feet facing the dark haired woman that he recognised from a few months back, "T'is but a flesh wound compared to what he has had."

Jenny smiled at his comment, giving Virgil more momentum to keep talking, "You know, when he was home on leave from the Air Base, he talked about you all the time," Virgil smiled at the memories, "He always just called you Lakeland though, it took about six months for us to realise you were a girl,"

Jenny snorted and sighed, "I bet you were expecting someone tougher than this. All I've done is cry since we met up,"

Virgil shrugged, he hadn't really noticed, "It's alright to cry you know, I think I'd be pretty angry too if some idiot ruined my date night and almost killed my partner." He lifted his hand to his mouth, pretending to make a secret of what he said next, "Kayo cries all the time when she gets angry."

He smiled with the new girl and nodded towards Evie, "Go and get changed, I'll keep him out of trouble until you get back."

With one more glance to Scott, Jenny nodded and stood up, "I won't be long."

Virgil nodded as she went with Evie and looked back to his brother to murmur, "She's a keeper Scotty."

* * *

Kayo looked up as Alan held out a glass of water, "Here."

"Thanks," She sighed, sitting up and taking the drink. Her head ached from the feeble attempt at overpowering the Hood earlier. She had forgotten the after effects she suffered when she had first started using her powers. When Alan sat next to her, she leant into his shoulder, quite content with going asleep there on the sofa.

"Is this because of that freaky mind thing you and the Hood were doing?"

"Gordon." Grandma chided quietly from where she was sat talking to their father.

Kayo sat up again smiling to Gordon, "It's fine Grandma. Yes Gordon. It's like a muscle that I've not used in a long time and suddenly tried to swim five hundred meters."

Gordon pulled a face, "Ouch." His eyes suddenly lit up, "What was he doing to Scott? Can you do it to me?"

Kayo slowly shook her head, still painfully aware of the ache there, "I wouldn't wish that on anyone Gords."

Gordon shrugged, much to Kayo's dismay. She closed her eyes as he told her, "I can take it, I bet it's not the worst I've had."

Kayo smiled as Alan's lips brushed her ear, "One second, then he won't ask again."

"Though it's tempting," Kayo murmured back, "I couldn't."

John looked up as Evie came in and sat next to him, "Virgil and Jenny are with Scott now,"

"Still out?" Jeff asked looking up tiredly.

Evie nodded and glanced to Kayo, "Do you think what the Hood did could have an added effect?"

"Probably," Kayo agreed, "Though I've never really looked into it."

Evie smiled sympathetically, "He's showing signs of improvement."

She glanced to the boys' father, he looked so tired, thin too. He hardly looked like _the_ Jeff Tracy everyone saw on TV interviews to do with Tracy Enterprises and charity work.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Mister Tracy."

John looked to his father and then back to Evie, quickly realising that there hadn't been any formal introductions. He smiled to Evie and squeezed her hand in apology, "Dad, this is Evie, my partner."

"Seriously, you've only just gotten around to introductions?"

Everyone sat straighter, each with varying degrees of a smile on their faces. John glanced to Evie who was shaking her head with a smirk, "You should be in bed."

Scott rolled his eyes at the woman, "I'm fine!" He didn't protest at Virgil and Jenny's insistence at helping him to the sofa and happily sat back with Jenny in his arms, "Speaking of partners, guys, this Jenny Lakeland."

He smiled as his family laughed and shook their heads at the inside joke, leaving Evie and Kayo frowning in confusion. Looking to his father, Scott smiled and winked, assuring him that everything was fine. He understood why his father had left, and after so much trouble just to get the family back together, Scott really wasn't interested in questioning him any further. Yes, Scott would be quite happy for things to go back to normal now.

After some catching up, and a long discussion about what the Hood had been up to, Alan and Kayo were the first to retire to bed, quickly followed by Brains. Grandma had then encouraged the others to get some sleep, insisting that any rescues could wait for the night and that she'd inform the GDF of the situation.

As Virgil and Jenny helped him up, Scott looked to their father and raised an eyebrow. The older man smiled and shook his head to his son, "Don't worry. I won't be doing any disappearing tricks for a long time."

Scott nodded in approval, "I'd hope not," His smile turned softer, "It's good to have you back Dad."

"Good to be back, son."

* * *

"John?" Evie asked as she climbed into bed next to him, snuggling up against his side. He smiled and held her closer, kissing her damp hair lightly, "Yeah?"

"Something I overheard your brothers saying a while ago had me wondering," Evie murmured as she played with John's long slender fingers. She seemed almost hesitant to finish her train of thought as he watched her carefully. All it too was a gentle squeeze of the hand in encouragement for her to finish, "About personal space?"

John snorted and nodded, "Yeah, I've heard that conversation before," He sighed and looked to the auburn hair splayed out on the bedsheets next to him, "Ever since our Mom died…" He trailed off trying to find the right words to explain it all, it wasn't something anyone ever really talked about. He had a mutual understanding with his family about personal space, and outsiders just weren't of a concern. At least, not normally.

"I struggled for a long time with hugs and all that kind of stuff." John admitted, his gaze no longer focussing on anything, his eyes were drifting seeing nothing that was in front of him, "After a while I managed to tolerate it for my family," He smiled as his eyes refocused on the woman looking up to him, her skin warm against his. His eyes closed as she reached up, her fingers brushing at the scratch on his forehead before she sat up more to kiss it. John smiled and looked up to her, holding her where she was as he murmured, "I never thought I'd ever be happy enough to hold someone like this."

A soft pink smattered Evie's cheeks as she glanced away from John, he couldn't help but smile more as his hand reached to stroke the warm skin. He had refused to let it hold him back when he realised how he was pushing people away and he had finally gotten there.

* * *

Scott smiled as Jenny straddled his hips, "I love you, Scott,"

She smiled softly and let her fingers brush his hair back from his forehead as his dark blue eyes scanned over her face, "I love you too Jen, you know that."

Swallowing hard, Jenny looked down to her borrowed dress reminding herself of why she had picked out the lacy blue and white lingerie that morning. She may have been known for her flirtatious nature on the Air Base, but none of that had ever lead anywhere. The woman was as innocent as the day she was born.

"Jen?" Scott whispered, trailing his lips up her neck, "Are you okay?"

Her hands reached out to his shirt, shaking slightly as they reached to unbutton the material.

Scott's warm hands reached up and covered hers, freezing them where they were. Their eyes met, ocean blue meeting earthy brown, as Scott whispered, "Jen?"

"I'm ready," She told him, "Scott, I'm ready."

Scott watched his girlfriend's eyes as she spoke, shining more than usual in the low lights of the bedroom. He couldn't help but smile as her cheeks took on a dark pink hue. Reaching up, his fingers lightly brushed over the warm skin of her cheek. Her fingers played with the hair at the nape of her neck making his stomach twist and his heart swell.

Using both hands, he tucked her long, dark, curls back over her shoulders, "Are you sure Jenny?"

She nodded again, giving him a small smile, "Yeah, and I'm sorry it took me until now to realise it,"

Scott smiled and leant up to kiss her cheek, "I told you, baby, I would wait forever for you."

Jenny swallowed and shook her head. He had been so still, so pale. He was only human, and she had almost lost him. She had been so close to losing him, a second later, a fraction closer and he could have died. Her voice came out choked as she held his face between her hands again, "I almost lost you," She sniffed and reached up to wipe her already damp eyes, "Scott, I-"

He silenced her with a kiss. His lips soft and sweet and gentle against hers. As always, her heart flipped and her cheeks flared red. There was something new though, a knotting in the very pits of her stomach and an ache in her chest. Scott's thumbs wiped across her cheeks, ridding them of the tear streaks as he pulled back, "It's okay Jen. I'm here, I'm okay," He soothed her.

Scott held Jenny until she had calmed down again, stroking her hair. Letting himself lie back flat against the bed he held her to his chest. Every now and again his lips would brush her hair as he held her. She was right, it had been close. How many times had he almost died though? Yet, he was still here, alive and well.

"I'm still here, Jen," He whispered to her, "You don't need to worry about that, not now."

He sighed as she wiped her eyes and took his hand in hers, "I know," She whispered, rubbing her thumb over his calloused skin, "I just didn't want to lose you Scott, you're too important,"

Smiling softly at her admission, Scott smoothed his thumb over her hand. He didn't respond to her though, knowing she didn't need a response, just someone to listen. She'd been taught that nobody wanted to listen her, it was what she had grown up with. That would change though, Scott vowed to always make time to listen to her.

"I'll always be here," He murmured against her dark curls, "I love you,"

Jenny wiped her eyes and took a breath, pushing herself up from Scott's chest and forcing a smile, "I love you too, Scott," She kissed the tip of his nose and laughed softly as he returned the gesture, "And I trust you."

Sucking in a slow breath, Jenny reached behind her back and tugged on the zip of her dress. Her eyes flicked up as Scott shifted in front of her, moving up and taking her hands behind her back. Biting her lip as he kissed her cheek, Jenny looked up to him, confused as to why he had stopped her.

"The others aren't going to let me on a rescue for a while," Scott murmured, "We can take things slow,"

Jenny smiled and lifted her fingers, brushing a loose curl of his dark hair back from his forehead. She didn't think she could love him any more. The way he set her skin on fire with the simple brush of his fingers made her stomach twist and knot in pleasure. She hadn't imagined it possible that hands that had seen such damage could be so light and sensitive. Every brush of his lips made her breath hitch in her throat. She wanted him to hold her tighter, to kiss her harder, she craved more from him.

Scott wasn't rushing though, inside Jenny's hard shell she was more sensitive than she would ever let on to anybody else. She had given him her trust and he wasn't going to betray it. He held her in his lap, taking his time to memorise her face. The crease lines on her forehead, and the dimple in her chin when she frowned. The faded scar on the bridge of her nose from a cat fight after a drunk night out. The way her deep, chocolate eyes seemed to sparkle in excitement as her full pink lips curled upwards. As his hands moved to her waist, the soft skin of her cheeks tinged pink. Scott smiled and leant in to kiss the warm skin, letting his lips skim across the surface as he murmured, "So beautiful."

He heard her breath hitch as he spoke, making him wonder if anyone had ever paid her this much attention before. Her hands were so hesitant as they made their way up his shirt, lingering over the buttons waiting to be undone. It amazed him how much different the cocky, outgoing, Air Force Captain was when she was alone and a very long way from anything she knew. Scott could only ever remember her encouraging the removal of clothing on the Air Base, teasing the men with her own tight outfits that left little to imagination.

His lips lingered on her throat as she bit her lower lip, so shy compared to the woman that had been more than happy to oggle at the pool or in the gym.

"It's nothing you haven't seen before," He whispered, flicking his eyes up to her face, waiting until she took the encouragement before he let his lips land under her ear.

His quiet encouragement was all Jenny needed. He was right after all, how many times had she watched him strip down after exercises at the Air Base? She had never dreamed back then that she would ever be this close to the man she had crushed on since she had first set eyes on him. His lips slowly caressed the sensitive skin under her ear, eliciting a quiet sigh of contentment as she slipped the buttons of his shirt from their holes. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing, as always, knowing just which of her buttons to push and in what order. That was Scott Tracy all over though, always in control.

She slipped the shirt off and leant forward, finally getting a chance to return the soft caress as Scott pulled back. Their lips met at long last, not rough and hurried like their other kisses had been. This one was altogether different. It was slow and sweet, light and tender, and everything Jenny had imagined a kiss should be as a lovesick teenage girl. His hands were on her back, pushing her flush to him. Her hands were on his arm and in his hair, knotted almost possessively in the dark strands.

When his hand shifted to the zip, she pulled back. All confidence from earlier suddenly vanished into self consciousness. This was new territory for her, a game she was yet to play, a lesson she was yet to learn.

Scott's hands dropped from where they had been reaching up to, not moving on until she told him she was ready. He looked to her, again biting her lower lip. She wasn't ready. Despite what she had asked for earlier, nothing was going to happen that night. Fitting a hand to her warm cheek, Scott smiled as she leant into his touch, "It's okay," He whispered, using his thumb to pull her lip from her teeth.

"Scott, I-"

Placing his thumb over her mouth silenced her, "It's okay," He repeated, "Listen. You, go and get ready for bed," He smiled softly as she relaxed a little, "And I mean for sleep." He added, "Take what you need into the bathroom, and I'll be here when you're ready," He watched Jenny's face, making sure she understood what he was saying, glad she didn't seem disappointed. He had to be absolutely clear though, "Jen," He whispered, leaning up to brush her lips with his once more, "It's been a long day, and this doesn't have to be done like everyone makes out."

Jenny smiled and glanced away as she murmured, "Wham. Bam. Thank you M'am."

Scott smiled and brushed her hair back with a nod, "Exactly. For some people, it takes baby steps," He tucked her hair behind her ear, "For others… toddler steps," He waited until her eyes met his, "You decide how big those steps are, okay?"

Jenny nodded, her voice softer when she replied, "Okay."

As the bathroom door clicked shut, Scott stood from the bed. He threw his already discarded shirt across the room to the desk chair and twisted in the mirror to check the scab running across his lower back. Most of the other bruises were already fading, the only other reminder of what had happened a cut hidden by his hair but that was also fading quickly. Jenny was right. If it had been a fraction further up, or his brother hadn't found the bleed a second later, things could have worked out much differently. He was lucky the steel beam had hit where it had, just inches from his spine. He was okay though, shock from blood loss the worst of the damage. Jenny had spent days focusing on him, fussing and fretting over if or when he would wake up. Now it was her turn to be taken care of, to be held and assured that everything was just how it needed to be.

He pulled off his jeans and threw them to the laundry basket, sighing when he missed and had to go and pick them up anyway. He flicked the main light off, swapping it for the dim lamp by his bed. Shutting the screen door to the balcony and pulling the light curtains, Scott smiled at the silhouettes on the beach around a small campfire before turning to his bed. He lay back against the pillows, pulling the light sheet over himself and resting his hands behind his head as he closed his eyes. In the bathroom he could hear Jenny's quiet shuffling and the running of the tap water.

Jenny took a final breath before sliding the door open, smiling as she spotted Scott lying back on the bed, a thin sheet pulled up to his waist. His eyes were closed, Jenny wondered if he had fallen asleep briefly but got her answer when he stretched one arm out from behind his head. She smiled as he murmured, "I won't peak until you tell me,"

Swallowing the last dregs of fear she strode over to the bed and climbed under the sheets. She curled into Scott's side, taking care not to press on his bruised chest and resting her head on his shoulder. Scott's arm curled around her, holding her securely, but not tightly, to him.

"How's your back?" She murmured to him, tracing her fingers over a bruise so lightly that Scott could barely feel her touch. Still with his eyes closed, he smiled and sighed, "I told you, I'm fine."

Jenny shifted slightly, leaning over him to meet his lips, he smelt of the sea, of paradise. His skin was warm against hers, her lips trailed along the line of his chin to his ear where she whispered, "You can open your eyes now."

Scott sighed and turned towards her slightly, "Too late baby," He murmured, his words slurring together a little, "I'm already aslee-"

Jenny smiled and closed her own eyes, tiredness suddenly catching up on her as her breaths shallowed and leveled with Scott's.

* * *

 **Wow, that turned into a long one. I was going to put the scott and jenny bit in a new chapter but decided it fitted better just there. Erm. maybe just one more chapter of this left? One and an epilogue? I'm not sure, we shall see.**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/n Awww, last chapter :( BUT YAY there's going to be a sequel :D Eventually... I do have 3 other things also on the go at the moment so who knows when that will happen. But thank you everyone for all the support and lovely comments, I've really enjoyed writing this and hope the next book lives up to expectations!**

 **Chapter 30**

Alan frowned at John, sitting up in the sand, "What do you mean EOS will have to stay on Three?"

John smiled and shook his head, "Just until I work out a system down here to keep her safe until we repair Five."

Jeff shook his head and looked to his family, "I don't follow. EOS?"

They were interrupted by Virgil's yell, "Gordon! You kicked it in there, you can fetch it back!"

The rest of the family looked along the beach to where Scott, Jenny, Virgil, and Gordon were having a kick about. The ball was now floating in the waves rather than rolling along the beach.

John shook his head and uttered, "Gordon should stick to swimming."

He smiled as Evie leant into him, "Let me guess, you stick to your stars?"

"Most definitely."

He watched his brothers and Jenny as the fought for possession of the ball, Scott holding his partner back by the waist whilst the other two took it from her. The woman shrieked and laughed as she struggled against Scott, only pausing when he murmured something in her ear making her laugh some more.

Virgil picked up the ball and headed to join his family with Gordon.

"Can someone please confirm that _that_ is the real Scott?" Gordon asked as he sat down and looked down the beach to the couple, "What happened to mister captain major."

John shook his head with a smile, he had to admit it was hard to remember the last time Scott had been so relaxed and carefree, "You forget how much he's been doing Gordon."

Virgil nodded in agreement, "He's held up really well, considering."

He looked over as his father smiled to them, "You all have, to keep everything going like you have done you must have," Virgil laughed as his father ruffled Alan's hair, "I'm proud of you all."

Everyone looked up to the villa as a call came down, "Who's ready for dinner?"

The boys all grinned at each other as they stood and brushed the sand off of themselves. If there was one thing they were glad about now their father was back, it would be the vast improvement in Grandma's cooking ability. From their meal the previous night, and that morning's breakfast, they knew that edible food had made an overnight return to the island.

Organised chaos seemed to rein around the dining table as everyone asked anyone to pass the different bowls of food around. There was laughing, joking, and general merriment around the table as different topics of conversation were taken up around the table.

"So, did you decide what to do about EOS?" Virgil asked John.

John shook his head, "No, she's still running around Three's system. I might move her onto a data pad just to shut Alan up,"

He smiled as Alan let out a huff of annoyance at the comment but frowned when Brains interrupted, "While you were all d-down at the beach, I t-t-took the liberty of making a temporary solution."

Everyone became quiet as the genius reached to the holocom at the centre of the table, "EOS?"

John's eyes lit up as a hologram of codes was shown to them, and the now familiar voice responded, "Hello John."

"That's EOS?" Gordon frowned, "But it's just a load of gobbledygook."

John smiled and shook his head, "That's the code that makes up EOS."

"So EOS is a computer programme?"

John looked across the table to his father and smiled, "Well, she doesn't like the term virus,"

"Who are these people?" EOS asked, "I've not met them before."

The brothers laughed together before allowing John to explain, "EOS this is our Dad, Jeff." He gestured to Jenny, "And this is Scott's girlfriend, Jenny."

"Hello," EOS greeted them, "Nice to meet you."

Jenny shook her head and looked to Scott, "Your family just gets stranger and stranger,"

"You ain't seen nothin' yet," Gordon winked to her.

"So, how did you come about EOS?" Jeff asked the code in front of him, "If you don't mind me asking."

John shook his head, "Some very old code I wrote evolved into an AI and wormed her way onto Thunderbird Five."

The second brother frowned as Scott raised an eyebrow, implying that he should tell their father the whole story rather than just a summary. John was quite happy with leaving it as he did, not wanting to upset their father with events that had long since been dealt with.

"So now she lives up on Thunderbird Five," Evie finished for him, "Well, she did, until the other day."

John nodded, "Did you manage to order the parts Brains?"

The man nodded and nudged his glasses up his nose, "Y-yes, they should be ready this w-week."

John smiled, glad that he'd be able to start repairs sooner rather than later.

Evie had been watching the scrolling code and thinking, "Can't you put another image up instead of all that code?"

John thought for a second, "I suppose an animation wouldn't be too hard to code for, I'd need a three dimensional drawing though." He looked to the code, "Would you like that EOS?"

The code flashed green, "You mean I could have my own hologram? I'd be able to look like a real person?"

"I'd be more than happy to do the design," Virgil offered, "If we…"

Jeff shook his head as he took his plate to the dishwasher and stood in the kitchen with his mother, "Have things really changed _that_ much?"

"Not really." His mother smiled, "It just feels like it," She shook her head, "I wouldn't worry, things will sort themselves out in time, you just need to be patient while things get back on track"

Jeff smiled as he watched his sons and partners discussing EOS's animation, "Is it bad to say I'm glad I left?"

He looked down as his mother placed her hand over his, "Not at all Son, if I'm honest I think it was a good thing too," They both smiled to the boys, "They've grown up so much and come into their own. You can start taking a back seat now you know that they'll always manage."

Jeff nodded, "I think you're right mother."

"Emergency call from the New International Space Station coming in," EOS announced, "Shall I feed it through to the lounge?"

"Yes EOS," John nodded as everyone stood and headed through, their meals suddenly forgotten. In the corner of his eye Scott noticed his father hesitating on the outside of the group, not wanting to take over. He turned to his father and raised his head, asking if he minded them carrying on in their new fashion. He smiled when Jeff nodded in response and came to stand next to Scott as they listened to the message.

"This is the New International Space Station, one of our crew is having a fit and needs medical attention."

Scott nodded to John, he was the voice of the operation, it would always be his job to answer the calls, "This is International Rescue to the NISS, can we help with your situation?"

There was a sigh of relief from the station, "Yes, from records, your craft will be able to get here faster than anything else. We're not sure what's wrong with him, he just sort of collapsed on us."

John nodded, "We have a team on it's way and will be in contact once they have left earth's atmosphere."

"Thank you International Rescue."

Scott nodded to Alan with a smile and then looked to Evie, "Are you up for it?"

She nodded in confirmation, "I did a bit of specialist work with neurology, I know what to expect."

John smiled and nodded to her in encouragement as he looked to the readouts, "If you hurry you'll get a good trajectory from your take off position."

"F-A-B." Alan nodded as his seat disappeared into the ground.

"And now," Gordon announced as he returned with his plate of food, "We wait."

Scott smirked as he sat back, "Want a coffee Dad?"

Everyone laughed as Jeff ruffled his son's hair with a shake of his head.

To everyone's relief the mission went without a hitch, the crew member was delivered to a neurological hospital and was later reported to have a mild form of epilepsy. Jeff was impressed with how much slicker the boys had made the whole operation, and could easily see how much they had grown in themselves and their roles. The more he saw of the work, the more he had to admit to himself, nobody had wanted him to leave, but everyone knew it had been for the best. His plan to catch the Hood may have failed, but there would be other opportunities for them to catch him and when they did, it would be for good.


End file.
